Binary data v14
The following table shows data types that allow the storage of binary strings.
| Name | Storage size | Description |
|---|---|---|
BINARY | The length of the binary string | Fixed-length binary string, with a length between 1 and 8300 |
BLOB | The actual binary string plus 1 byte if the binary string is less than 127 bytes, or 4 bytes if the binary string is 127 bytes or greater | Variable-length binary string, with a maximum size of 1 GB |
VARBINARY | The length of the binary string | Variable-length binary string, with a length between 1 and 8300 |
A binary string is a sequence of octets (or bytes). Binary strings are distinguished from characters strings by two characteristics:
- Binary strings specifically allow storing octets of value zero and other "non-printable" octets (defined as octets outside the range 32 to 126).
- Operations on binary strings process the actual bytes, whereas the encoding and processing of character strings depends on locale settings.