Hex

Encode and decode hexadecimal strings. Useful for representing binary data, hash digests, and color codes.

import Encoding.Hex

Encoding

Hex.encode

String -> String

Encode a string to lowercase hexadecimal. Each byte becomes two hex characters.

hex = Hex.encode "Hello"
# "48656c6c6f"

# Binary data
bytes = Hex.encode "\x00\xff\x10"
# "00ff10"

Decoding

Hex.decode

String -> String

Decode a hexadecimal string back to the original bytes. Returns an empty string for invalid input.

decoded = Hex.decode "48656c6c6f"
# "Hello"

# Case insensitive
decoded = Hex.decode "48656C6C6F"
# "Hello"

Validation

Hex.valid?

String -> Bool

Check if a string is valid hexadecimal. Must have even length and contain only characters 0-9, a-f, A-F.

Hex.valid? "48656c6c6f"  # true
Hex.valid? "DEADBEEF"    # true
Hex.valid? "123"         # false (odd length)
Hex.valid? "hello"       # false (invalid chars)

Common Uses

Hex encoding is commonly used for:

Hash digests (SHA256, MD5, etc.)
Color codes (#ff5500)
MAC addresses (00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E)
Binary data in text formats