Convert MD5 to base62 for URL

Question

I have a script to convert to base 62 (A-Za-z0-9) but how do I get a number out of MD5?

I have read in many places that because the number from an MD5 is bigger than

Answer 1

You can do this like this: (Not all steps are in php, it's been a long time that I've used it.)

• Create a md5 hash of the script like this:

  $hash = md5(script, raw_output=true);

• Convert that number to base 62.

  See the questions about base conversion of arbitrary sized numbers in PHP

• Truncate the string to a length you like.

There's no risk in using only a few of the bits of a md5. All that changes is danger of collisions.