summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/doc/src/sgml/html/functions-binarystring.html
blob: b0ca26b67c5e3ff10fa99e1ddb941a84583cc265 (plain)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" /><title>9.5. Binary String Functions and Operators</title><link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet.css" /><link rev="made" href="pgsql-docs@lists.postgresql.org" /><meta name="generator" content="DocBook XSL Stylesheets Vsnapshot" /><link rel="prev" href="functions-string.html" title="9.4. String Functions and Operators" /><link rel="next" href="functions-bitstring.html" title="9.6. Bit String Functions and Operators" /></head><body id="docContent" class="container-fluid col-10"><div class="navheader"><table width="100%" summary="Navigation header"><tr><th colspan="5" align="center">9.5. Binary String Functions and Operators</th></tr><tr><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="functions-string.html" title="9.4. String Functions and Operators">Prev</a> </td><td width="10%" align="left"><a accesskey="u" href="functions.html" title="Chapter 9. Functions and Operators">Up</a></td><th width="60%" align="center">Chapter 9. Functions and Operators</th><td width="10%" align="right"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 15.4 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="10%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="functions-bitstring.html" title="9.6. Bit String Functions and Operators">Next</a></td></tr></table><hr /></div><div class="sect1" id="FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING"><div class="titlepage"><div><div><h2 class="title" style="clear: both">9.5. Binary String Functions and Operators</h2></div></div></div><a id="id-1.5.8.11.2" class="indexterm"></a><p>
    This section describes functions and operators for examining and
    manipulating binary strings, that is values of type <code class="type">bytea</code>.
    Many of these are equivalent, in purpose and syntax, to the
    text-string functions described in the previous section.
   </p><p>
    <acronym class="acronym">SQL</acronym> defines some string functions that use
    key words, rather than commas, to separate
    arguments.  Details are in
    <a class="xref" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-SQL" title="Table 9.11. SQL Binary String Functions and Operators">Table 9.11</a>.
    <span class="productname">PostgreSQL</span> also provides versions of these functions
    that use the regular function invocation syntax
    (see <a class="xref" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-OTHER" title="Table 9.12. Other Binary String Functions">Table 9.12</a>).
   </p><div class="table" id="FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-SQL"><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.11. <acronym class="acronym">SQL</acronym> Binary String Functions and Operators</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="SQL Binary String Functions and Operators" border="1"><colgroup><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        Function/Operator
       </p>
       <p>
        Description
       </p>
       <p>
        Example(s)
       </p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.5.2.2.1.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="type">bytea</code> <code class="literal">||</code> <code class="type">bytea</code><code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Concatenates the two binary strings.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">'\x123456'::bytea || '\x789a00bcde'::bytea</code><code class="returnvalue">\x123456789a00bcde</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.5.2.2.2.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">bit_length</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Returns number of bits in the binary string (8
        times the <code class="function">octet_length</code>).
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">bit_length('\x123456'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">24</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.5.2.2.3.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">octet_length</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Returns number of bytes in the binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">octet_length('\x123456'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">3</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.5.2.2.4.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">overlay</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> <code class="literal">PLACING</code> <em class="parameter"><code>newsubstring</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> <code class="literal">FROM</code> <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> [<span class="optional"> <code class="literal">FOR</code> <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> </span>] )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Replaces the substring of <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> that starts at
        the <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em>'th byte and extends
        for <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em> bytes
        with <em class="parameter"><code>newsubstring</code></em>.
        If <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em> is omitted, it defaults to the length
        of <em class="parameter"><code>newsubstring</code></em>.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">overlay('\x1234567890'::bytea placing '\002\003'::bytea from 2 for 3)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x12020390</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.5.2.2.5.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">position</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>substring</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> <code class="literal">IN</code> <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Returns first starting index of the specified
        <em class="parameter"><code>substring</code></em> within
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em>, or zero if it's not present.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">position('\x5678'::bytea in '\x1234567890'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">3</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.5.2.2.6.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">substring</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> [<span class="optional"> <code class="literal">FROM</code> <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> </span>] [<span class="optional"> <code class="literal">FOR</code> <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> </span>] )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Extracts the substring of <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> starting at
        the <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em>'th byte if that is specified,
        and stopping after <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em> bytes if that is
        specified.  Provide at least one of <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em>
        and <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em>.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">substring('\x1234567890'::bytea from 3 for 2)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x5678</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.5.2.2.7.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">trim</code> ( [<span class="optional"> <code class="literal">LEADING</code> | <code class="literal">TRAILING</code> | <code class="literal">BOTH</code> </span>]
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> <code class="literal">FROM</code>
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Removes the longest string containing only bytes appearing in
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> from the start,
        end, or both ends (<code class="literal">BOTH</code> is the default)
        of <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em>.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">trim('\x9012'::bytea from '\x1234567890'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x345678</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <code class="function">trim</code> ( [<span class="optional"> <code class="literal">LEADING</code> | <code class="literal">TRAILING</code> | <code class="literal">BOTH</code> </span>] [<span class="optional"> <code class="literal">FROM</code> </span>]
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        This is a non-standard syntax for <code class="function">trim()</code>.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">trim(both from '\x1234567890'::bytea, '\x9012'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x345678</code>
       </p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
    Additional binary string manipulation functions are available and
    are listed in <a class="xref" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-OTHER" title="Table 9.12. Other Binary String Functions">Table 9.12</a>.  Some
    of them are used internally to implement the
    <acronym class="acronym">SQL</acronym>-standard string functions listed in <a class="xref" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-SQL" title="Table 9.11. SQL Binary String Functions and Operators">Table 9.11</a>.
   </p><div class="table" id="FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-OTHER"><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.12. Other Binary String Functions</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Other Binary String Functions" border="1"><colgroup><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        Function
       </p>
       <p>
        Description
       </p>
       <p>
        Example(s)
       </p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.1.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.1.1.1.2" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">bit_count</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bigint</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Returns the number of bits set in the binary string (also known as
        <span class="quote"><span class="quote">popcount</span></span>).
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">bit_count('\x1234567890'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">15</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.2.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">btrim</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Removes the longest string containing only bytes appearing in
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> from the start and end of
        <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em>.
       </p>
       <p>
       <code class="literal">btrim('\x1234567890'::bytea, '\x9012'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x345678</code>
      </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.3.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">get_bit</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>n</code></em> <code class="type">bigint</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Extracts <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-ZEROBASED-NOTE">n'th</a> bit
        from binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">get_bit('\x1234567890'::bytea, 30)</code><code class="returnvalue">1</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.4.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">get_byte</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>n</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Extracts <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-ZEROBASED-NOTE">n'th</a> byte
        from binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">get_byte('\x1234567890'::bytea, 4)</code><code class="returnvalue">144</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.5.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.5.1.1.2" class="indexterm"></a>
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.5.1.1.3" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">length</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Returns the number of bytes in the binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">length('\x1234567890'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">5</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <code class="function">length</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>encoding</code></em> <code class="type">name</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">integer</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Returns the number of characters in the binary string, assuming
        that it is text in the given <em class="parameter"><code>encoding</code></em>.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">length('jose'::bytea, 'UTF8')</code><code class="returnvalue">4</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
         <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.7.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
         <code class="function">ltrim</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
         <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> )
         → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
        </p>
        <p>
         Removes the longest string containing only bytes appearing in
         <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> from the start of
         <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em>.
        </p>
        <p>
         <code class="literal">ltrim('\x1234567890'::bytea, '\x9012'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x34567890</code>
        </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.8.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">md5</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">text</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Computes the MD5 <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-HASH-NOTE">hash</a> of
        the binary string, with the result written in hexadecimal.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">md5('Th\000omas'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">8ab2d3c9689aaf18​b4958c334c82d8b1</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
         <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.9.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
         <code class="function">rtrim</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
         <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code> )
         → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
        </p>
        <p>
         Removes the longest string containing only bytes appearing in
         <em class="parameter"><code>bytesremoved</code></em> from the end of
         <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em>.
        </p>
        <p>
         <code class="literal">rtrim('\x1234567890'::bytea, '\x9012'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x12345678</code>
        </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.10.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">set_bit</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>n</code></em> <code class="type">bigint</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>newvalue</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Sets <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-ZEROBASED-NOTE">n'th</a> bit in
        binary string to <em class="parameter"><code>newvalue</code></em>.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">set_bit('\x1234567890'::bytea, 30, 0)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x1234563890</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.11.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">set_byte</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>n</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code>,
        <em class="parameter"><code>newvalue</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Sets <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-ZEROBASED-NOTE">n'th</a> byte in
        binary string to <em class="parameter"><code>newvalue</code></em>.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">set_byte('\x1234567890'::bytea, 4, 64)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x1234567840</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.12.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">sha224</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Computes the SHA-224 <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-HASH-NOTE">hash</a>
        of the binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">sha224('abc'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x23097d223405d8228642a477bda2​55b32aadbce4bda0b3f7e36c9da7</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.13.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">sha256</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Computes the SHA-256 <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-HASH-NOTE">hash</a>
        of the binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">sha256('abc'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\xba7816bf8f01cfea414140de5dae2223​b00361a396177a9cb410ff61f20015ad</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.14.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">sha384</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Computes the SHA-384 <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-HASH-NOTE">hash</a>
        of the binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">sha384('abc'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\xcb00753f45a35e8bb5a03d699ac65007​272c32ab0eded1631a8b605a43ff5bed​8086072ba1e7cc2358baeca134c825a7</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.15.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">sha512</code> ( <code class="type">bytea</code> )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Computes the SHA-512 <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-HASH-NOTE">hash</a>
        of the binary string.
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">sha512('abc'::bytea)</code><code class="returnvalue">\xddaf35a193617abacc417349ae204131​12e6fa4e89a97ea20a9eeee64b55d39a​2192992a274fc1a836ba3c23a3feebbd​454d4423643ce80e2a9ac94fa54ca49f</code>
       </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
        <a id="id-1.5.8.11.7.2.2.16.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
        <code class="function">substr</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>, <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> [<span class="optional">, <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em> <code class="type">integer</code> </span>] )
        → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
       </p>
       <p>
        Extracts the substring of <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> starting at
        the <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em>'th byte,
        and extending for <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em> bytes if that is
        specified.  (Same
        as <code class="literal">substring(<em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em>
        from <em class="parameter"><code>start</code></em>
        for <em class="parameter"><code>count</code></em>)</code>.)
       </p>
       <p>
        <code class="literal">substr('\x1234567890'::bytea, 3, 2)</code><code class="returnvalue">\x5678</code>
       </p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p id="FUNCTIONS-ZEROBASED-NOTE">
   Functions <code class="function">get_byte</code> and <code class="function">set_byte</code>
   number the first byte of a binary string as byte 0.
   Functions <code class="function">get_bit</code> and <code class="function">set_bit</code>
   number bits from the right within each byte; for example bit 0 is the least
   significant bit of the first byte, and bit 15 is the most significant bit
   of the second byte.
  </p><p id="FUNCTIONS-HASH-NOTE">
   For historical reasons, the function <code class="function">md5</code>
   returns a hex-encoded value of type <code class="type">text</code> whereas the SHA-2
   functions return type <code class="type">bytea</code>.  Use the functions
   <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTION-ENCODE"><code class="function">encode</code></a>
   and <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTION-DECODE"><code class="function">decode</code></a> to
   convert between the two.  For example write <code class="literal">encode(sha256('abc'),
   'hex')</code> to get a hex-encoded text representation,
   or <code class="literal">decode(md5('abc'), 'hex')</code> to get
   a <code class="type">bytea</code> value.
  </p><p>
   <a id="id-1.5.8.11.10.1" class="indexterm"></a>
   <a id="id-1.5.8.11.10.2" class="indexterm"></a>
   Functions for converting strings between different character sets
   (encodings), and for representing arbitrary binary data in textual
   form, are shown in
   <a class="xref" href="functions-binarystring.html#FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-CONVERSIONS" title="Table 9.13. Text/Binary String Conversion Functions">Table 9.13</a>.  For these
   functions, an argument or result of type <code class="type">text</code> is expressed
   in the database's default encoding, while arguments or results of
   type <code class="type">bytea</code> are in an encoding named by another argument.
  </p><div class="table" id="FUNCTIONS-BINARYSTRING-CONVERSIONS"><p class="title"><strong>Table 9.13. Text/Binary String Conversion Functions</strong></p><div class="table-contents"><table class="table" summary="Text/Binary String Conversion Functions" border="1"><colgroup><col /></colgroup><thead><tr><th class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
       Function
      </p>
      <p>
       Description
      </p>
      <p>
       Example(s)
      </p></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
       <a id="id-1.5.8.11.11.2.2.1.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
       <code class="function">convert</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
       <em class="parameter"><code>src_encoding</code></em> <code class="type">name</code>,
       <em class="parameter"><code>dest_encoding</code></em> <code class="type">name</code> )
       → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
      </p>
      <p>
       Converts a binary string representing text in
       encoding <em class="parameter"><code>src_encoding</code></em>
       to a binary string in encoding <em class="parameter"><code>dest_encoding</code></em>
       (see <a class="xref" href="multibyte.html#MULTIBYTE-CONVERSIONS-SUPPORTED" title="24.3.4. Available Character Set Conversions">Section 24.3.4</a> for
       available conversions).
      </p>
      <p>
       <code class="literal">convert('text_in_utf8', 'UTF8', 'LATIN1')</code><code class="returnvalue">\x746578745f696e5f75746638</code>
      </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
       <a id="id-1.5.8.11.11.2.2.2.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
       <code class="function">convert_from</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
       <em class="parameter"><code>src_encoding</code></em> <code class="type">name</code> )
       → <code class="returnvalue">text</code>
      </p>
      <p>
       Converts a binary string representing text in
       encoding <em class="parameter"><code>src_encoding</code></em>
       to <code class="type">text</code> in the database encoding
       (see <a class="xref" href="multibyte.html#MULTIBYTE-CONVERSIONS-SUPPORTED" title="24.3.4. Available Character Set Conversions">Section 24.3.4</a> for
       available conversions).
      </p>
      <p>
       <code class="literal">convert_from('text_in_utf8', 'UTF8')</code><code class="returnvalue">text_in_utf8</code>
      </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
       <a id="id-1.5.8.11.11.2.2.3.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a>
       <code class="function">convert_to</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em> <code class="type">text</code>,
       <em class="parameter"><code>dest_encoding</code></em> <code class="type">name</code> )
       → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
      </p>
      <p>
       Converts a <code class="type">text</code> string (in the database encoding) to a
       binary string encoded in encoding <em class="parameter"><code>dest_encoding</code></em>
       (see <a class="xref" href="multibyte.html#MULTIBYTE-CONVERSIONS-SUPPORTED" title="24.3.4. Available Character Set Conversions">Section 24.3.4</a> for
       available conversions).
      </p>
      <p>
       <code class="literal">convert_to('some_text', 'UTF8')</code><code class="returnvalue">\x736f6d655f74657874</code>
      </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
       <a id="FUNCTION-ENCODE" class="indexterm"></a>
       <code class="function">encode</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>bytes</code></em> <code class="type">bytea</code>,
       <em class="parameter"><code>format</code></em> <code class="type">text</code> )
       → <code class="returnvalue">text</code>
      </p>
      <p>
       Encodes binary data into a textual representation; supported
       <em class="parameter"><code>format</code></em> values are:
       <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#ENCODE-FORMAT-BASE64"><code class="literal">base64</code></a>,
       <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#ENCODE-FORMAT-ESCAPE"><code class="literal">escape</code></a>,
       <a class="link" href="functions-binarystring.html#ENCODE-FORMAT-HEX"><code class="literal">hex</code></a>.
      </p>
      <p>
       <code class="literal">encode('123\000\001', 'base64')</code><code class="returnvalue">MTIzAAE=</code>
      </p></td></tr><tr><td class="func_table_entry"><p class="func_signature">
       <a id="FUNCTION-DECODE" class="indexterm"></a>
       <code class="function">decode</code> ( <em class="parameter"><code>string</code></em> <code class="type">text</code>,
       <em class="parameter"><code>format</code></em> <code class="type">text</code> )
       → <code class="returnvalue">bytea</code>
      </p>
      <p>
       Decodes binary data from a textual representation; supported
       <em class="parameter"><code>format</code></em> values are the same as
       for <code class="function">encode</code>.
      </p>
      <p>
       <code class="literal">decode('MTIzAAE=', 'base64')</code><code class="returnvalue">\x3132330001</code>
      </p></td></tr></tbody></table></div></div><br class="table-break" /><p>
   The <code class="function">encode</code> and <code class="function">decode</code>
   functions support the following textual formats:

   </p><div class="variablelist"><dl class="variablelist"><dt id="ENCODE-FORMAT-BASE64"><span class="term">base64
     <a id="id-1.5.8.11.12.3.1.1.1" class="indexterm"></a></span></dt><dd><p>
       The <code class="literal">base64</code> format is that
       of <a class="ulink" href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2045#section-6.8" target="_top">RFC
       2045 Section 6.8</a>.  As per the <acronym class="acronym">RFC</acronym>, encoded lines are
       broken at 76 characters.  However instead of the MIME CRLF
       end-of-line marker, only a newline is used for end-of-line.
       The <code class="function">decode</code> function ignores carriage-return,
       newline, space, and tab characters.  Otherwise, an error is
       raised when <code class="function">decode</code> is supplied invalid
       base64 data — including when trailing padding is incorrect.
      </p></dd><dt id="ENCODE-FORMAT-ESCAPE"><span class="term">escape
     <a id="id-1.5.8.11.12.3.2.1.1" class="indexterm"></a></span></dt><dd><p>
       The <code class="literal">escape</code> format converts zero bytes and
       bytes with the high bit set into octal escape sequences
       (<code class="literal">\</code><em class="replaceable"><code>nnn</code></em>), and it doubles
       backslashes.  Other byte values are represented literally.
       The <code class="function">decode</code> function will raise an error if a
       backslash is not followed by either a second backslash or three
       octal digits; it accepts other byte values unchanged.
      </p></dd><dt id="ENCODE-FORMAT-HEX"><span class="term">hex
     <a id="id-1.5.8.11.12.3.3.1.1" class="indexterm"></a></span></dt><dd><p>
       The <code class="literal">hex</code> format represents each 4 bits of
       data as one hexadecimal digit, <code class="literal">0</code>
       through <code class="literal">f</code>, writing the higher-order digit of
       each byte first.  The <code class="function">encode</code> function outputs
       the <code class="literal">a</code>-<code class="literal">f</code> hex digits in lower
       case.  Because the smallest unit of data is 8 bits, there are
       always an even number of characters returned
       by <code class="function">encode</code>.
       The <code class="function">decode</code> function
       accepts the <code class="literal">a</code>-<code class="literal">f</code> characters in
       either upper or lower case.  An error is raised
       when <code class="function">decode</code> is given invalid hex data
       — including when given an odd number of characters.
      </p></dd></dl></div><p>
  </p><p>
   See also the aggregate function <code class="function">string_agg</code> in
   <a class="xref" href="functions-aggregate.html" title="9.21. Aggregate Functions">Section 9.21</a> and the large object functions
   in <a class="xref" href="lo-funcs.html" title="35.4. Server-Side Functions">Section 35.4</a>.
  </p></div><div class="navfooter"><hr /><table width="100%" summary="Navigation footer"><tr><td width="40%" align="left"><a accesskey="p" href="functions-string.html" title="9.4. String Functions and Operators">Prev</a> </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="u" href="functions.html" title="Chapter 9. Functions and Operators">Up</a></td><td width="40%" align="right"> <a accesskey="n" href="functions-bitstring.html" title="9.6. Bit String Functions and Operators">Next</a></td></tr><tr><td width="40%" align="left" valign="top">9.4. String Functions and Operators </td><td width="20%" align="center"><a accesskey="h" href="index.html" title="PostgreSQL 15.4 Documentation">Home</a></td><td width="40%" align="right" valign="top"> 9.6. Bit String Functions and Operators</td></tr></table></div></body></html>