System.Net.WebUtility.UrlEncodeToBytes Method

Converts a byte array into a URL-encoded byte array.

Syntax

public static byte[] UrlEncodeToBytes (byte[] value, int offset, int count)

Parameters

value
The byte array to URL-encode.
offset
The offset, in bytes, from the start of the byte array to encode.
count
The count, in bytes, to encode from the byte array.

Returns

Returns byte.

An encoded byte array.

Remarks

If characters such as blanks and punctuation are passed in an HTTP stream, they might be misinterpreted at the receiving end. URL encoding replaces characters that are not allowed in a URL with character-entity equivalents consisting of hexadecimal escape sequences. The converted string is expected to conform to the UTF-8 format.

URL encoding replaces all character codes except for letters, numbers, and the following punctuation characters:

  • - (minus sign)

  • _ (underscore)

  • . (period)

  • ! (exclamation point)

  • * (asterisk)

  • ' (single quotation mark)

  • ( and ) (opening and closing parentheses)

For example, when embedded in a block of text to be transmitted in a URL, the characters < and > are encoded as %3c and %3e.

The WebUtility.UrlDecodeToBytes(Byte[], int, int) method reverses the encoding.

Requirements

Namespace: System.Net
Assembly: System (in System.dll)
Assembly Versions: 4.0.0.0