Encoding and decoding images in java

Hi there,

I have a code that teaches me (from the web) to encode and decode strings. I really need help to decode a string into image or image to string...any help is appreciated... htanks a lot...

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import org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64;

public class Codec {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    try {
      String clearText = "Hello world";
      String encodedText;

      // Base64
      encodedText = new String(Base64.encodeBase64(clearText.getBytes()));
      System.out.println("Encoded: " + encodedText);
      System.out.println("Decoded:"
          + new String(Base64.decodeBase64(encodedText.getBytes())));
      //    
      // output :
      //   Encoded: SGVsbG8gd29ybGQ=
      //   Decoded:Hello world      
      //
    }
    catch (Exception e) {
      e.printStackTrace();
    }
  }
}
   ---