HEX_TO_BINARY

Translates the given VARCHAR hexadecimal representation into a VARBINARY value.

Behavior Type

Immutable

Syntax

HEX_TO_BINARY ( [ 0x ] expression )

Parameters

expression

(BINARY or VARBINARY) String to translate.

 
0x

Optional prefix.

Notes

VARBINARY HEX_TO_BINARY(VARCHAR) converts data from character type in hexadecimal format to binary type. This function is the inverse of TO_HEX.

HEX_TO_BINARY(TO_HEX(x)) = x)
TO_HEX(HEX_TO_BINARY(x)) = x)

If there are an odd number of characters in the hexadecimal value, the first character is treated as the low nibble of the first (furthest to the left) byte.

Examples

If the given string begins with "0x" the prefix is ignored. For example:

=> SELECT HEX_TO_BINARY('0x6162') AS hex1, HEX_TO_BINARY('6162') AS hex2;
 hex1 | hex2
------+------
 ab   | ab
(1 row)

If an invalid hex value is given, Vertica returns an “invalid binary representation" error; for example:

=> SELECT HEX_TO_BINARY('0xffgf');
ERROR:  invalid hex string "0xffgf"

See Also