HEX

Returns the hexadecimal representation of numeric, string, or binary data.

Note

Beginning with version 8.5, the way HEX() calculates the values of real and decimal numbers is changed to be more in line with how MySQL HEX() works. Existing implementations of HEX() will return updated values.

Syntax

HEX (expression)

Arguments

  • expression: any valid expression. This can be a column name, literal, or the return value of another function.

Return Type

Upper-case hexadecimal string.

Examples

SELECT HEX(1234);
+-----------+
| HEX(1234) |
+-----------+
| 4D2       |
+-----------+
SELECT HEX('1234');
+-------------+
| HEX('1234') |
+-------------+
| 31323334    |
+-------------+
SELECT HEX('ohai');
+-------------+
| HEX('ohai') |
+-------------+
| 6F686169    |
+-------------+

Note

This function operates on the binary representation of the given argument. That is why the result of hex(1234) and hex('1234') yield different values. This also means that the output of hex( number ) cannot be fed into UNHEX directly to get back the literal number 1234.

Last modified: December 15, 2023

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