import io, base64
import json

def image_to_base64(image):
    """Convert PIL Image to base64 encoded string"""
    img_byte_arr = io.BytesIO()
    image.save(img_byte_arr, format='JPEG')
    return base64.b64encode(img_byte_arr.getvalue()).decode('utf-8')


def load_questions(filepath="data/all_questions.json"):
    """Loads questions from a JSON file.

    Args:
        filepath (str): The path to the JSON file.  Defaults to "data/all_questions.json".
    Returns:
        list: A list of question records.  Returns an empty list if the file is not found or if an error occurs during loading.
    """
    try:
        with open(filepath, 'r') as f:
            data = json.load(f)
            return data
    except FileNotFoundError:
        print(f"Error: File not found at {filepath}")
        return []
    except json.JSONDecodeError:
        print(f"Error: Could not decode JSON from {filepath}.  The file may be corrupted.")
        return []
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"An unexpected error occurred: {e}")
        return []