---
title: "Binary, hash and UUID functions"
slug: "dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid"
updated: 2026-10-30T18:18:51Z
published: 2026-10-30T18:18:51Z
canonical: "docs.vastdata.com/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vastdata.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Binary, hash and UUID functions

*Applies to VAST Cluster 5.5.*

Bit strings, `BLOB` data and encodings, hashes, UUIDs and enums.

Each function has its own page: syntax, what it does, NULLs and edge cases, examples with their output, how it runs in VAST, how to make it faster, limitations and errors, and similar functions. Names that the VAST Query Engine doesn't have are in [all functions A-Z](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-a-z).

## Position of a value

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [enum_code](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-enums-enum-code) | Get the position of a value in its ENUM type, counting from 0. |

## Values of an ENUM type

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [enum_first](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-enums-enum-first) | Get the first value of an ENUM type. |
| [enum_last](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-enums-enum-last) | Get the last value of an ENUM type. |
| [enum_range_boundary](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-enums-enum-range-boundary) | List the values of an ENUM type from one value to another. |
| [enum_range](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-enums-enum-range) | List every value of an ENUM type, in its declared order. |

## Binary text

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [bin](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-string-bin) (also `to_binary`) | Write the bytes of a string, or an integer, as text of 0s and 1s; to_binary is the same function. |
| [from_binary](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-string-from-binary) (also `unbin`) | Read a string of 0s and 1s into a BLOB, padded on the left to whole bytes; unbin is the same function. |

## Bit strings

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [bit_count](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-bit-count) | Count the bits set to 1 in a BIT value or in an integer with bit_count(). |
| [bit_position](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-bit-position) | Find where one bit string first occurs in another with bit_position(). |
| [BIT values and casts](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-bit-values) | Build BIT values from strings, integers and other types with CAST, read them back as text, and compare them. |
| [bitstring](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-bitstring) | Pad a bit string on the left with 0s to a fixed length with bitstring(). |
| [Bitwise operators on BIT values](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-bitwise-operators-on-bit) | Combine, invert and shift BIT values with &, \|, xor(), ~, << and >>. |
| [get_bit](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-get-bit) | Read one bit of a BIT value by its index with get_bit(). |
| [set_bit](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-set-bit) | Return a copy of a BIT value with one bit set to 0 or 1 with set_bit(). |

## Bits of numbers

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [signbit](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-signbit) | Test whether the sign bit of a floating-point number is set, which tells -0.0 from 0.0, with signbit(). |

## Binary data and encodings

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [BLOB values, comparisons and \|\|](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-blob-values) | Write BLOB constants, cast to and from BLOB, compare BLOB values byte by byte and join them with \|\|. |
| [decode](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-decode) | Read the bytes of a BLOB as UTF-8 text and return a VARCHAR. |
| [encode](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-encode) | Turn a VARCHAR into its UTF-8 bytes, as a BLOB. |
| [from_base64](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-from-base64) | Read Base64 text back into bytes, as a BLOB. |
| [to_base64](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-to-base64) (also `base64`) | Write the bytes of a BLOB as Base64 text; base64 is the same function. |
| [from_hex](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-from-hex) (also `unhex`) | Turn hexadecimal text into a BLOB; unhex is the same function. |
| [hex](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-hex) (also `to_hex`) | Write bytes, a string's UTF-8 bytes or an integer as upper-case hexadecimal text; to_hex is the same function. |
| [octet_length](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-octet-length) | Count the bytes in a BLOB, or in the packed form of a BIT value. |
| [repeat (BLOB)](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-repeat) | Repeat the bytes of a BLOB a number of times. |

## Bitwise list aggregates

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [list_bit_and](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-list-bit-and) | Combine the elements of an integer or BIT list with bitwise AND, one result per row. |
| [list_bit_or](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-list-bit-or) | Combine the elements of an integer or BIT list with bitwise OR, one result per row. |
| [list_bit_xor](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-list-bit-xor) | Combine the elements of an integer or BIT list with bitwise XOR, one result per row. |

## Hashes

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [md5_number_lower](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-md5-number-lower) | Return the last 8 bytes of the MD5 digest of a string or BLOB as an unsigned 64-bit UBIGINT. |
| [md5_number_upper](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-md5-number-upper) | Return the first 8 bytes of the MD5 digest of a string or BLOB as an unsigned 64-bit UBIGINT. |
| [md5_number](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-md5-number) | Compute the MD5 digest of a string or BLOB as a signed 128-bit HUGEINT. |
| [md5](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-md5) | Compute the MD5 digest of a string or BLOB as 32 lower-case hex digits. |
| [hash](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-hash) | Compute a 64-bit non-cryptographic hash of one or more values of any type, for bucketing and sampling. |
| [sha1](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-sha1) | Compute the SHA-1 digest of a VARCHAR or BLOB as 40 lowercase hex digits. |
| [sha256](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-sha256) | Compute the SHA-256 digest of a VARCHAR or BLOB as 64 lowercase hex digits. |

## UUIDs

| Function | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| [gen_random_uuid](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-gen-random-uuid) (also `uuid`) | Generate a random version 4 UUID per call and per row; uuid is the same function. |
| [UUID values and casts](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-binary-hash-uuid-uuid-values) | Write UUID constants, convert between UUID and text, and compare and sort UUID columns. |

## See also

- [SQL functions](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-index) and [all functions A-Z](/develop/docs/dev-database-reference-sql-functions-a-z).