Base256
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This is really cool!
I thought of something similar before, because I also faced the problem of "how do I make it maximally easy for myself to manually transcribe arbitrary data", so when I saw this I thought it was really cool that someone else had gone through the same process!
I never actually coded my version, but in my idea I was using the wordlist used by the pwqgen utility (from Openwall's passwdqc). I don't know if you considered that wordlist, but I think you might find that word list more useful for your goals, because it has a few useful properties:
- All the words are 3-6 characters, so they are quick and easy to type even without autocomplete.
- The words are relatively distinct from each other, so it should still be easy to not lose your place.
- There are 4096 words, so you can encode 3 bytes into two words.
In my head I was initially calling the idea "base4096 encoding", just like you called yours "base256". Then to emphasize the human-friendliness and deemphasize any implication of space-efficiency, I decided to call it "human4096 encoding". Then I realized that was pretty English-centric of me, so I'm tempted to call it "english4096". That's nice because it also leaves room for many other "{{ human language name }}4096" encodings. Or maybe some other number than 4096. But 4096 seems like a good sweet spot for distinct words that humans can keep track of which also track byte boundaries with a reasonably regular period.
Biggest differences from your implementation:
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Biggest relative advantage of the english4096 encoding is that the encodings tend to be much smaller.
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english4096 is worse in cases where the auto-complete really dominates, like thumb input through a touchscreen keyboard on a phone.
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english4096 is better when using a hardware keyboard with physical buttons, or when auto-complete-like assistance isn't available.
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Biggest relative disadvantage of the english4096 encoding is the implementation complexity: the lack of 1-1 mapping to bytes.
(12-bit steps over 8-bit bytes is regular enough that we can still do a simple loop which reads three bytes at a time and has a special case for the two possible short reads. But it's still more code and bit-twiddling than just a simple table lookup.
Also, english4096 needs one extra word to handle those two cases in the decoder - if this modifier word is present, the word it modifies only encodes the bits of the first of the two bytes it would normally encode bits of. My intuition is to put it in front of the last word rather than behind, to make the logic simpler in the decoder, since that way the decoder doesn't have to "hold back" the bytes for a word until after checking if the next word is a modifier. You could use a modifier character or capitalization to signal this instead of an extra word, but I think capitalization is worse for human-friendliness because it complicates the mental model from the stupidly simple "just type the words you see" with extra details like "you need to be mindful of capitalization/symbols". To someone with attention to detail and computer savvy, the idea of replicating text exactly is automatic, but to a lot of lay people it is not necessarily intuitive that special characters or capitalization can't be just ignored when transcribing.)
Anyway, you've inspired me to actually implement and document english4096 encoding! Cheers!
Thank you for the kind words and for the details about your encoding.
I will keep this ticket open, as I might decide to add an implementation of your english4096 idea to my utility as well.
Love to hear that! Would be super cool to have multiple compatible implementations!
I'll try to finally publish a precise spec and some test case examples later this week, then.
Okay, here's a fuller, precise spec:
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If you need a name string for the format, use
english4096(all lowercase if possible). -
The word list is the 4096 words from OpenWall's passwdqc's
pwqgen's wordlist, plus "zygote".[click to expand full word list]
aback abbey abbot abide ablaze able aboard abode abort abound about above abroad abrupt absent absorb absurd abuse accent accept access accord accuse ace ache aching acid acidic acorn acre across act action active actor actual acute adam adapt add added addict adept adhere adjust admire admit adobe adopt adrift adult adverb advert aerial afar affair affect afford afghan afield afloat afraid afresh after again age agency agenda agent aghast agile ago agony agree agreed ahead aid aide aim air airman airy akin alarm alaska albeit album alert alibi alice alien alight align alike alive alkali all allah alley allied allow alloy ally almond almost aloft alone along aloof aloud alpha alpine also altar alter always amaze amazon amber ambush amen amend amid amidst amiss among amount ample amuse anchor and andrew anew angel anger angle anglo angola angry animal ankle annoy annual answer anthem anti antony any anyhow anyway apart apathy apex apiece appeal appear apple apply april apron arab arcade arcane arch arctic ardent are area argue arid arise arm armful armpit army aroma around arouse array arrest arrive arrow arson art artery artful artist ascent ashen ashore aside ask asleep aspect assay assent assert assess asset assign assist assume assure asthma astute asylum ate athens atlas atom atomic attach attack attain attend attic auburn audio audit august aunt auntie aura austin author auto autumn avail avenge avenue avert avid avoid await awake awaken award aware awash away awful awhile axes axiom axis axle aye babe baby bach back backup bacon bad badge badly bag baggy bail bait bake baker bakery bald ball ballad ballet ballot baltic bamboo ban banal banana band bang bank bar barber bare barely barge bark barley barn baron barrel barren basalt base basic basil basin basis basket basque bass bat batch bath baton battle bay beach beacon beak beam bean bear beard beast beat beauty become bed beech beef beefy beep beer beet beetle before beggar begin behalf behave behind beige being belief bell belly belong below belt bench bend benign bent berlin berry berth beset beside best bestow bet beta betray better beware beyond bias bible biceps bicker bid big bigger bike bile bill binary bind biopsy birch bird birdie birth bishop bit bitch bite bitter black blade blame bland blast blaze bleak blend bless blew blind blink blip bliss blitz block blond blood bloody bloom blot blouse blow blue bluff blunt blur blush boar board boast boat bodily body bogus boil bold bolt bomb bombay bond bone bonn bonnet bonus bony book boom boost boot booth booze border bore borrow bosom boss boston both bother bottle bottom bought bounce bound bounty bout bovine bow bowel bowl box boy boyish brace brain brainy brake bran branch brand brandy brass brave bravo brazil breach bread break breast breath bred breed breeze brew brick bride bridge brief bright brim brine bring brink brisk briton broad broke broken bronze brook broom brown bruise brush brutal brute bubble buck bucket buckle buddha budget buffet buggy build bulb bulge bulk bulky bull bullet bully bump bumpy bunch bundle bunk bunny burden bureau burial buried burly burma burn burnt burrow burst bury bus bush bust bustle busy but butler butt butter button buy buyer buzz bye byte cab cabin cable cache cactus caesar cage cairo cake calf call caller calm calmly came camel camera camp campus can canada canal canary cancel cancer candid candle candy cane canine canoe canopy canvas canyon cap cape car carbon card care career caress cargo carl carnal carol carp carpet carrot carry cart cartel case cash cask cast castle casual cat catch cater cattle caught causal cause cave cease celery cell cellar celtic cement censor census cereal cervix chain chair chalk chalky champ chance change chant chaos chap chapel charge charm chart chase chat cheap cheat check cheek cheeky cheer cheery cheese chef cherry chess chest chew chic chick chief child chile chill chilly chin china chip choice choir choose chop choppy chord chorus chose chosen christ chrome chunk chunky church cider cigar cinema circa circle circus cite city civic civil clad claim clammy clan clap clash clasp class clause claw clay clean clear clergy clerk clever click client cliff climax climb clinch cling clinic clip cloak clock clone close closer closet cloth cloud cloudy clout clown club clue clumsy clung clutch coach coal coarse coast coat coax cobalt cobra coca cock cocoa code coffee coffin cohort coil coin coke cold collar colon colony colt column comb combat come comedy comic commit common compel comply concur cone confer congo consul convex convey convoy cook cool cope copper copy coral cord core cork corn corner corps corpse corpus cortex cosmic cosmos cost costly cosy cotton couch cough could count county coup couple coupon course court cousin cove cover covert cow coward cowboy crab crack cradle craft crafty crag crane crap crash crate crater crawl crazy creak cream creamy create credit creed creek creep creepy crept crest crew cried crime crisis crisp critic croft crook crop cross crow crowd crown crude cruel cruise crunch crush crust crux cry crypt cuba cube cubic cuckoo cuff cult cup curb cure curfew curl curry curse cursor curve custom cut cute cycle cyclic cynic cyprus czech dad daddy dagger daily dairy daisy dale dallas damage damn damp dampen dance danger danish dare dark darken darwin dash data date david dawn day dead deadly deaf deal dealer dean dear death debate debit debris debt debtor decade decay decent decide deck decor decree deduce deed deep deeply deer defeat defect defend defer define defy degree deity delay delete delhi delta demand demise demo demon demure denial denote dense dental deny depart depend depict deploy depot depth deputy derby derive desert design desire desist desk detail detect deter detest detour device devil devise devoid devote devour dial diana diary dice dictum did die diesel diet differ digest digit dine dinghy dinner diode dire direct dirt dirty disc disco dish disk dismal 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wide widely widen wider widow width wife wild wildly wilful will willow win wind window windy wine wing wink winner winter wipe wire wisdom wise wish wit witch with within witty wizard woke wolf wolves woman womb won wonder wood wooden woods woody wool word work worker world worm worry worse worst worth worthy would wound wrap wrath wreath wreck wright wrist writ write writer wrong xerox yacht yale yard yarn yeah year yeast yellow yemen yet yield yogurt yolk york you young your youth zaire zeal zebra zenith zero zigzag zinc zombie zone zurich zygote -
The first 4096 words encode bit patterns from 0x000 to 0xFFF (so "aback" is 0x000, "abbey" is 0x001, ..., "will" is 0xFAB, "willow" is 0xFAC, and so on).
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The canonical word list order is alphabetical. When one word is an exact prefix of another (for example "will" and "willow"), the shorter one sorts "first" (closer to A, further from Z).
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Encoding operates on chunks of 24 bits: three octets of input (8 bits x 3), output two words (12 bits x 2).
For example, if the first three bytes of the input are
0x01 0x23 0x45, that's0x012345, which re-splits as0x012 0x345, so the output isaccent cruise. -
The last/4097th word, "zygote", prevents ambiguous outputs by indicating that the next word only contributes to one byte.
For example,
0x12 0x34 0x00re-splits as0x123 0x400, encodes tobasin drag.0x12 0x34re-splits as0x123 0x4__, encodes tobasin zygote drag.0x12 0x00re-splits as0x120 0x0__, encodes tobase zygote aback.0x12re-splits as0x12_ 0x___, encodes tozygote base.
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Implementations should accept redundant encodings where the word "zygote" occurs in the middle of the word string, or multiple times, so long as each occurrence is individually valid.
For example,
zygote base zygote crowis the catenation of separately encoding0x12and0x34, and that whole string should decode to0x12 0x34. Similarly,basin zygote drag forum mastshould decode to0x12 0x34 0x56 0x78 0x90. -
Implementations should reject unused encodings where the ignored bits are non-zero (
basin zygote dragon,basin zygote fig,zygote basic,zygote beacon, ...) and where the wordzygoteappears as the last word. -
Decoding should be case-insensitive.
[Click to expand for rationale on the above points]
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Why "zygote" for the extra word? sorts last; distinct spelling+sound, even with mistakes; keeps all words within 3-6 letters; and the idea of being undeveloped is mnemonic with not completely using an encoded word.
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[nothing to explain]
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Why alphabetical? human-friendly, obvious even without explanation, and enables incremental binary search on the word list when decoding.
Similarly, shorter before longer enables another decoding optimization:
\0<a<b< ... <y<zin all encodings, so if you append nulls to the shorter words, you can just lexically comparing letters without code+branches checking string sizes. -
[nothing to explain]
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Why put "zygote" before the partially-used word rather than after? it makes it approximately impossible to parse incomplete or delayed input as a different valid input.
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Why allow these inefficient redundant encodings?
- It's the cleanest way to prevent a surprising inconsistency: if we don't allow it, it is inescapable that outputs without
zygotecan be prepended validly to other outputs, but ones withzygotecan't - and users might not notice until they're already relying on it working. - When two operations are commutative, when all valid outputs can be catenated and then decode to the catenation of their inputs, it gives more flexibility and power to users in a fundamental permeating way that often turns out useful in hard-to-predict ways.
- If such redundant encodings are allowed, "normalizing" them is a trivial decode and re-encode operation - if they're not accepted but the use-case turns up, a user has to go out of their way, possibly reimplementing or mentally stepping through the decoding and encoding just to give it to the decoder that rejects this.
- It's the cleanest way to prevent a surprising inconsistency: if we don't allow it, it is inescapable that outputs without
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Why reject zygote'd words that imply non-zero ignored bits? Because unlike the redundant encodings in the last point, this doesn't have a natural use case outweighing the default best practice, which is that: rejecting helps help catch errors instead of turning errors into silent misbehavior, and protects the ecosystem by nipping buggy implementations and mutually incompatible extensions in the bud.
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It would be a nuisance for users if "wrong" casing was rejected, could easily become a confusing and non-obvious source of errors if case was overloaded to have significant meaning, and would get in the way of many possible useful uses of case - such as for reducing visual ambiguity with some fonts, to help users not lose their place in a long encoded word string, and so on.)