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Add clarification on binary data and base64 encoding to Appendices (#3362)

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* Add clarification on binary data and base64 encoding (closes #3341)

* Add changelog fragment

* Delete 3362.clarification
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Neil Alexander 2021-08-26 18:23:51 +01:00 • committed by Richard van der Hoff
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@ -47,6 +47,27 @@ When decoding Base64, implementations SHOULD accept input with or
without padding characters wherever possible, to ensure maximum
interoperability.
## Binary data
In some cases it is necessary to encapsulate binary data, for example,
public keys or signatures. Given that JSON cannot safely represent raw
binary data, all binary values should be encoded and represented in
JSON as unpadded Base64 strings as described above.
In cases where the Matrix specification refers to either opaque byte
or opaque Base64 values, the value is considered to be opaque AFTER
Base64 decoding, rather than the encoded representation itself.
It is safe for a client or homeserver implementation to check for
correctness of a Base64-encoded value at any point, and to altogether
reject a value which is not encoded properly. However, this is optional
and is considered to be an implementation detail.
Special consideration is given for future protocol transformations,
such as those which do not use JSON, where Base64 encoding may not be
necessary in order to represent a binary value safely. In these cases,
Base64 encoding of binary values may be skipped altogether.
## Signing JSON
Various points in the Matrix specification require JSON objects to be