//Base64 encoding/decoding functions facilities
  def EncodeBase64( email: String ): String =
    org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64.encodeBase64String( email.getBytes )

  def DecodeBase64( encodedUusername: String ): String =
    new String( org.apache.commons.codec.binary.Base64.decodeBase64( encodedUusername ) )

  import org.apache.commons.codec.digest.DigestUtils._
  //Calculates the SHA-256 digest and returns the value as a hex string.
  val dataInSha1 = sha256Hex( dataToCrypt )
  
  val dataInMd5 = md5( dataToCrypt ) 

//see http://commons.apache.org/codec/api-release/org/apache/commons/codec/digest/DigestUtils.html