code: public static byte[] decode( String s, int options ) throws java.io.IOException {
  
          if( s == null ){
              throw new NullPointerException( "Input string was null." );
          }   // end if
  
          byte[] bytes;
          try {
              bytes = s.getBytes( PREFERRED_ENCODING );
          }   // end try
          catch( java.io.UnsupportedEncodingException uee ) {
              bytes = s.getBytes();
          }   // end catch
          //</change>
  
          // Decode
          bytes = decode( bytes, 0, bytes.length, options );
  
          return bytes;
      }
docs: Decodes data from Base64 notation, automatically
  detecting gzip-compressed data and decompressing it.
  
  @param s the string to decode
  @param options encode options such as URL_SAFE
  @return the decoded data
  @throws java.io.IOException if there is an error
  @throws NullPointerException if <tt>s</tt> is null
  @since 1.4