Created new entry b2a_hex-function in Python #7730

content/python/concepts/binascii-module/terms/b2a_hex-function/b2a_hex-function.md

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+---
+Title: '.b2a_hex()'
+Description: 'Converts binary data to a bytes object containing its hexadecimal (Base16) ASCII representation.'
+Subjects:
+  - 'Computer Science'
+  - 'Data Science'
+Tags:
+  - 'Encoding'
+  - 'Functions'
+  - 'Hexadecimal'
+CatalogContent:
+  - 'learn-python-3'
+  - 'paths/computer-science'
+---
+
+The **`.b2a_hex()`** function converts binary data into a bytes object containing a string of ASCII characters representing the data in Base16 (hexadecimal) format.
+
+## Syntax
+
+```pseudo
+binascii.b2a_hex(data[, sep[, bytes_per_sep=1]])
+```
+
+**Parameters:**
+
+- `data`: The binary data to convert. Must be a `bytes` or `bytearray` object.
+- `sep` (optional): A single-byte separator inserted between pairs of hex digits in the output.
+- `bytes_per_sep` (optional, default = 1): Determines how many bytes are grouped together before inserting the separator. Ignored if `sep` is not provided.
+
+**Return value:**
+
+Returns a bytes object containing the hexadecimal (Base16) ASCII representation of the input binary data.
+
+## Example: Basic Hexadecimal Conversion
+
+In this example, the binary string `"hello"` is converted to its Base16 ASCII representation:
+
+```py
+import binascii
+
+# Create binary data to encode
+binary_data = b"hello"
+
+# Encode the binary data to Base16 ASCII format
+encoded_data = binascii.b2a_hex(binary_data)
+
+print(encoded_data)
+```
+
+This produces the following output:
+
+```shell
+b'68656c6c6f'
+```
+
+> **Note**: Each byte of the input is converted to its two-character hexadecimal representation.
+
+## Example: Using a Separator for Readability
+
+The `sep` and `bytes_per_sep` parameters can make the output easier to read, especially for long binary data.
+
+```py
+import binascii
+
+binary_data = b"Python"
+encoded_data = binascii.b2a_hex(binary_data, sep=b":", bytes_per_sep=2)
+
+print(encoded_data)
+```
+
+This produces the following output:
+
+```shell
+b'5079:7468:6f6e'
+```
+
+> **Note**: The separator (:) is inserted after every 2 bytes, improving readability.
+
+
+## Codebyte Example
+
+In this example, the binary string `"Codecademy"` is converted to hexadecimal using `.b2a_hex()` to demonstrate encoding in a small, real-life scenario:
+
+```codebyte/python
+import binascii
+
+binary_data = b"Codecademy"
+encoded_data = binascii.b2a_hex(binary_data)
+
+print(encoded_data)
+```
+
+## Practical Use Cases
+
+### 1. Readable Representation of Binary Data
+
+Binary data often contains non-printable characters. Converting it to hex makes it human-readable and easy to inspect.
+
+```py
+import binascii
+
+raw_bytes = b'\x01\x02\x03\x04'
+readable_hex = binascii.b2a_hex(raw_bytes)
+
+print("Readable form:", readable_hex)
+```
+
+This produces the following output:
+
+```shell
+Readable form: b'01020304'
+```
+
+### 2. Digital Signatures and Hashes
+
+Cryptographic functions, such as SHA256 or MD5, generate binary hash values.  
+These values are raw bytes, which are not human-readable and can be difficult to store or compare directly.  
+
+The **`.b2a_hex()`** function converts these binary hashes into a readable hexadecimal string.  
+This makes it easy to **display, share, store, or compare** cryptographic hashes as plain text.
+
+
+```py
+import binascii
+import hashlib
+
+# Example: SHA256 hash of a message
+message = b"Hello World"
+hash_bytes = hashlib.sha256(message).digest()  # Raw binary hash
+
+# Convert binary hash to readable hexadecimal
+hash_hex = binascii.b2a_hex(hash_bytes)
+
+print("SHA256 Hash (hex):", hash_hex)
+```
+
+This produces the following output:
+
+
+```shell
+SHA256 Hash (hex): b'a591a6d40bf420404a011733cfb7b190d62c65bf0bcda32b57b277d9ad9f146e'
+```
+
+> **Note**: Using .b2a_hex() lets you handle cryptographic hashes as readable text, making it easier to debug, store in databases, or verify integrity.
+
+
+### 3. Educational or Visualization Purposes
+
+Useful for teaching or demonstrating how data is represented at the byte and hexadecimal level.  
+This helps students or developers visualize how text and other data are stored in binary form.
+
+```py
+import binascii
+
+text = "Learn"
+hex_version = binascii.b2a_hex(text.encode("utf-8"))
+
+print(f"Original text: {text}")
+print(f"Hexadecimal form: {hex_version}")
+```
+
+This produces the following output:
+
+
+```shell
+Original text: Learn
+Hexadecimal form: b'4c6561726e'
+```
+
+
+
+