A <bit string literal> is either a binary <bit string literal> or a hexadecimal <bit string literal>.

binary <bit string literal>: A binary <bit string literal> is the letter "B" (upper case mandatory) followed by a string of zero or more bits inside a pair of single quote marks. Its <data type> is fixed length BIT, though it is compatible with both the BIT and the BIT VARYING <data type>s. The <literal>'s length is the number of bits inside the quote marks; the delimiting single quotes aren't part of the <literal>, so they're not included in the calculation of the <bit string literal>'s size. Here are some examples of binary <bit string literal>s:

B'00010110'
B'1101'

Hexadecimal <bit string literal>:

A hexadecimal <bit string literal> is the letter "X" (upper case mandatory) followed by a string of zero or more hexits inside a pair of single quote marks. Its <data type> is fixed length BIT, though it is compatible with both the BIT and the BIT VARYING <data type>s. The <literal>'s length is four times the number of hexits inside the quote marks; the delimiting single quotes are not part of the <literal>, therefore they are not included in the calculation of the <bit string literal>'s size. Here are some examples of hexadecimal <bit string literal>s:

X'49FE'
X'a31d'

[Obscure Rule] SQL allows you to break a long <bit string literal> up into two or more smaller <bit string literal>s, split by a <separator> that includes a newline character. When it sees such a <literal>, your DBMS will ignore the <separator> and treat the multiple strings as a single <literal>. For example, these two <bit string literal>s are equivalent:

  B'00001111'
 '01101100'

 B'0000111101101100'

(In the first example, there is a carriage return newline <separator> between "1111'" and "'0110".)

These two <bit string literal>s are also equivalent:

   X'09AF'
'ab42'

   X'09afAB42'

If you want to restrict your code to Core SQL, do not use either binary or hexadecimal <bit string literal>s.

Note:

Portions of the text in this entry are Copyright © 1999 by Ocelot Computer Services Incorporated. Used by permission.

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