#44583 [NEW]: base64_decode: innaccurate documentation for $strict argument

From: robin_fernandes at uk dot ibm dot com Operating system: Windows PHP version: Irrelevant PHP Bug Type: Documentation problem Bug description: base64_decode: innaccurate documentation for $strict argument Description: ------------ In the doc for base64_decode(), the description of the $strict parameter reads: "Returns FALSE if input contains space or some other separator." In fact, the return value of base64_decode() is not affected by spaces or other white-space chars, regardless of the $strict flag. It is, however, affected by other chars outside of the base64 alphabet. See reproduce code. The implementation in base64.c suggests this is intentional: if ((!strict && ch < 0) || ch == -1) { /* a space or some other separator character, we simply skip over */ continue; } A better description for the $strict param would be: "When true, base64_decode() will return false if the data contains a non-whitespace character outside of the base64 alphabet. When false, all characters outside of the base64 alphabet are simply ignored." FYI, here's what RFC 2045 (referred to in the doc) has to say about how the decoder should deal with chars outside of the base64 alphabet: "All line breaks or other characters not found in Table 1 must be ignored by decoding software. In base64 data, characters other than those in Table 1, line breaks, and other white space probably indicate a transmission error, about which a warning message or even a message rejection might be appropriate under some circumstances." Reproduce code: --------------- <?php echo "Whitespace does not affect base64_decode, even with \$strict===true:\n"; $noWhiteSpace = "aGVsbG8gd29ybGQh"; var_dump(base64_decode($noWhiteSpace, false)); var_dump(base64_decode($noWhiteSpace, true)); $withWhiteSpace = "a GVs bG8gd2 9ybGQh"; var_dump(base64_decode($withWhiteSpace, false)); var_dump(base64_decode($withWhiteSpace, true)); echo "\n\nOther chars outside the base64 alphabet are ignored when \$strict===false, but cause failure with \$strict===true:\n"; $badChars = $noWhiteSpace . '*'; var_dump(base64_decode($badChars, false)); var_dump(base64_decode($badChars, true)); ?> Expected result: ---------------- n/a Actual result: -------------- Whitespace does not affect base64_decode, even with $strict===true: string(12) "hello world!" string(12) "hello world!" string(12) "hello world!" string(12) "hello world!" Other chars outside the base64 alphabet are ignored when $strict===false, but cause failure with $strict===true: string(12) "hello world!" bool(false) -- Edit bug report at http://bugs.php.net/?id=44583&edit=1 -- Try a CVS snapshot (PHP 5.2): http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=trysnapshot52 Try a CVS snapshot (PHP 5.3): http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=trysnapshot53 Try a CVS snapshot (PHP 6.0): http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=trysnapshot60 Fixed in CVS: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=fixedcvs Fixed in release: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=alreadyfixed Need backtrace: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=needtrace Need Reproduce Script: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=needscript Try newer version: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=oldversion Not developer issue: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=support Expected behavior: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=notwrong Not enough info: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=notenoughinfo Submitted twice: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=submittedtwice register_globals: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=globals PHP 4 support discontinued: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=php4 Daylight Savings: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=dst IIS Stability: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=isapi Install GNU Sed: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=gnused Floating point limitations: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=float No Zend Extensions: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=nozend MySQL Configuration Error: http://bugs.php.net/fix.php?id=44583&r=mysqlcfg