postgresqlHow do I store binary data in a Postgresql database using the bytea data type?

The bytea data type is a binary data type in Postgresql which allows for the storage of binary data. To store binary data using the bytea data type, the binary data must first be converted into a hexadecimal representation of the data. This can be done with the encode function.

For example:

SELECT encode(E'\xDEADBEEF', 'hex');

This will output "DEADBEEF" which is the hexadecimal representation of the binary data \xDEADBEEF.

Once the data is in hexadecimal representation, it can be inserted into a bytea column like so:

INSERT INTO mytable (mybyteacolumn) VALUES (decode('DEADBEEF', 'hex'));

This will insert the binary data \xDEADBEEF into the mybyteacolumn column of the mytable table.

To retrieve the binary data, the encode function can be used again:

SELECT encode(mybyteacolumn, 'hex') FROM mytable;

This will output the hexadecimal representation of the binary data stored in the mybyteacolumn column.

Helpful links

• https://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.4/datatype-binary.html
• https://www.postgresql.org/docs/9.4/functions-string.html

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