On Mon, Jun 13, 2011 at 1:58 AM, Craig Ringer <craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > On 13/06/11 09:27, Merlin Moncure wrote: > >> want to use the binary protocol mode (especially for postgres versions >> that don't support hex mode) > > Allowing myself to get a wee bit sidetracked: > > I've been wondering lately why hex was chosen as the new input/output > format when the bytea_output change went in. The Base64 encoding is > trivial to implement, already supported by standard libraries for many > languages and add-ons for the rest, fast to encode/decode, and much more > compact than a hex encoding, so it seems like a more attractive option. > PostgreSQL already supports base64 in explicit 'escape()' calls. yeah -- I remember the discussion. I think the bottom line is that hex is just simpler all around. This conveys a number of small advantages that, when added up, outweigh the slightly better space efficiency. merlin -- Sent via pgsql-general mailing list (pgsql-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) To make changes to your subscription: http://www.postgresql.org/mailpref/pgsql-general
