How to Convert Strings to Binary in PHP: A Comprehensive Guide

Binary Conversion of Strings in PHP: A Comprehensive Guide

In PHP, there are effective methods for converting strings to binary formats and back. This is a crucial aspect when dealing with password storage or other sensitive data. One approach is to leverage the hash-hmac() function.

Using the hash-hmac() Function

The hash-hmac() function combines the capabilities of hashing and binary output. It takes a string as input, hashes it using the specified algorithm (e.g., SHA256), and returns the result in binary format.

<code class="php">$password = 'MySecret';
$hashedPassword = hash_hmac('sha256', $password, 'Key');

// Store the binary hashed password in a database</code>

Alternative Approach: pack() and base_convert()

Another method involves using the pack() and base_convert() functions. pack() converts a string into binary by interpreting it as a series of hexadecimal values. base_convert() converts the binary representation back to a string.

Example

<code class="php">// Convert string to binary
$binary = pack('H*', 'Stack');
echo base_convert($binary, 16, 2); // 0101001101110100011000010110001101101011

// Convert binary to string
$string = pack('H*', base_convert('0101001101110100011000010110001101101011', 2, 16));
echo $string; // Stack</code>

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