io - How to decode base64 file into binary in Python? -

i'm building system handles pdf file data (for use pypdf2 lib). obtain base64 encoded pdf can decode , store correctly using following:

import base64 # base64filedata  <= base64 file data filedata = base64.urlsafe_b64decode(base64filedata.encode('utf-8')) open('thefilename.pdf', 'w') thefile:     thefile.write(filedata) 

i want use filedata binary file split up, when type(filedata), filedata turns out <type 'str'>. how can convert filedata binary (or @ least not string)?

all tips welcome!

[edit]

if open(filedata, 'rb') error, saying

typeerror: file() argument 1 must encoded string without null bytes, not str

to remove null bytes tried, filedata.rstrip(' \t\r\n\0') , filedata.rstrip('\0') , filedata.partition(b'\0')[0], nothing seems work. ideas?

[edit2]

the thing pass string pypdf2 pdffilereader class, on lines 909 912 following (in stream filedata provide):

if type(stream) in (string_type, str):     fileobj = open(stream, 'rb')     stream = bytesio(b_(fileobj.read()))     fileobj.close() 

so because string, assumes filename, after tries open file. fails typeerror. before feeding filedata pdffilereader need somehow convert else str doesn't try open it, considers filedata file on itself. ideas?

hence open's binary mode have use 'wb' else gets saved "text" basically.

import base64 # base64filedata  <= base64 file data filedata = base64.urlsafe_b64decode(base64filedata.encode('utf-8')) open('thefilename.pdf', 'wb') thefile:     thefile.write(filedata)