BinData SQL Server Reference Documentation
BinData
Current Version: 11.6.0
Chilkat.BinData
Load data from files, byte arrays, strings, encoded strings, or other
Chilkat objects that produce binary output.
Append bytes, strings, integers, BOMs, counted strings, padded fields,
encoded data, and other
Convert binary data to and from text encodings such as Base64, hex, URL
encoding, and other supported binary encodings.
Interpret bytes as text, append strings using a specified charset,
convert character encodings, and validate UTF-8 content.
Get byte counts, extract chunks, remove ranges, compare data, and work
with specific portions of a binary buffer.
Compute hashes for the contained data and write the resulting bytes to
files or pass them to other Chilkat classes.
For an extended overview, see
BinData Class Overview.
Build, transform, encode, decode, inspect, and save binary data.
Chilkat.BinData is a general-purpose mutable byte container used
throughout Chilkat for working with binary content in memory. It can load
bytes from files, byte arrays, strings, and encoded text; append additional
data in many forms; retrieve content as raw bytes, chunks, text, or encoded
strings; compute hashes; convert character encodings; validate UTF-8; remove
byte ranges; and write the final result to files.
Load binary content
Append and build data
BinData objects.
Encode and decode
Text and charset handling
Inspect and modify bytes
Hash and save output
BinData whenever a
Chilkat method needs a mutable in-memory binary buffer.
Object Creation
DECLARE @hr int
DECLARE @binData int
EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.BinData', @binData OUT
IF @hr <> 0
BEGIN
PRINT 'Failed to create ActiveX component'
RETURN
END
-- ... use @binData ...
EXEC @hr = sp_OADestroy @binDataT-SQL uses the Chilkat ActiveX through the OLE Automation stored procedures. They must be enabled once on the server (EXEC sp_configure 'Ole Automation Procedures', 1; RECONFIGURE;), and the Chilkat ActiveX registered must match the bitness of the SQL Server instance (64-bit for a 64-bit SQL Server). To bind to a specific major version of Chilkat, append the major version number to the ProgID, such as sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.BinData.11' for Chilkat v11.*.*.
sp_OACreate returns an object token (an int) that is passed as the first argument of every sp_OAMethod, sp_OAGetProperty and sp_OASetProperty call, and released with sp_OADestroy. Objects returned by methods (such as an HttpResponse or JsonObject) are also tokens received through an int OUT parameter; they must likewise be destroyed, and the OUT parameter is NULL when the method fails to return an object. Objects passed as arguments are passed by their token. When an OLE Automation procedure itself fails (non-zero @hr), sp_OAGetErrorInfo describes the error.
Data types: strings are nvarchar(4000); integers, booleans (1 or 0) and object tokens are int; dates are datetime. In the signatures on this page, @success, @iResult, @sResult and the like are the OUT variables receiving a method's return value, @iValue / @sValue receive or supply a property value, and the remaining @ variables are the method's arguments in order.
A string returned through an OUT parameter is limited to 4000 characters. For longer values, retrieve the result as a result set into a table variable instead of an OUT parameter, for example DECLARE @tmp TABLE (outputLine ntext) followed by INSERT INTO @tmp EXEC sp_OAGetProperty @binData, 'LastErrorText'. See string length limitations for strings returned by sp_OAMethod calls.
Methods that pass or return raw byte arrays are not shown on this page, because varbinary(max) values cannot be exchanged through sp_OAMethod (see varbinary(max) limitation). Use the BinData-based alternatives (methods ending in Bd) or the base64 / hex string-encoded variants instead. Binary properties (such as LastBinaryResult) can be retrieved as a result set into a table variable, as shown in their signatures. Asynchronous (*Async) methods and event callbacks are not available from SQL Server.
Properties
DebugLogFilePath
EXEC sp_OASetProperty @binData, 'DebugLogFilePath', @sValue
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
LastBinaryResult
This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.
LastErrorHtml
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
EXEC sp_OASetProperty @binData, 'LastMethodSuccess', @iValue
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.
LastStringResult
In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.
LastStringResultLen
The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.
topNumBytes
The number of bytes contained within the object.
topVerboseLogging
EXEC sp_OASetProperty @binData, 'VerboseLogging', @iValue
If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
Methods
AppendBd
AppendBom
Appends the appropriate BOM (byte order mark), also known as a preamble, for the given charset. If the charset has no defined BOM, then nothing is appended. An application would typically call this to append the utf-8, utf-16, or utf-32 BOM.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topAppendByte
Appends a single byte. The byteValue should be a value from 0 to 255.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topAppendCountedString
Appends a byte count followed by the string in the desired character encoding, such as utf-8. The numCountBytes is the size in bytes of the integer to represent the byte count. If 0, then a minimal number of bytes is used. If bigEndian is 1, the byte count is appended in big endian byte ordering, otherwise little-ending byte ordering. The str is the string to be appended. The charset is the character encoding, such as utf-8, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topAppendEncoded
Appends encoded binary data to the current data. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
AppendEncodedSb
Decodes the contents of sb and appends the decoded bytes to this object. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
AppendInt2
Appends a 16-bit integer (2 bytes). If littleEndian is 1, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
AppendInt4
Appends a 32-bit integer (4 bytes). If littleEndian is 1, then the integer bytes are appended in little-endian byte order, otherwise big-endian byte order is used.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
AppendPadded
Appends a string to this object, padded to the fieldLen with NULL or SPACE chars. If padWithSpace is 1, then SPACE chars are used and the string is not null-terminated. If fieldLen is 0, then null bytes are used. The charset controls the byte representation to use, such as utf-8.
Note: This call will always append a total number of bytes equal to fieldLen. If the str is longer than fieldLen, the method returns 0 to indicate failure and nothing is appended.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
AppendSb
AppendString
Appends a string to this object. (This does not append the BOM. If a BOM is required, the AppendBom method can be called to append the appropriate BOM.)
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
ByteSwap
Does either 16-bit or 32-bit byte swapping of the entire contents. If size equals 16, then swaps in 2 bytes (e.g., 0x1234 → 0x3412). If size equals 32, then swaps 4 bytes (e.g., 0x12345678 → 0x78563412)
CharsetConvert
This method converts the character encoding of an object's contents from one format to another, such as from Windows-1252 to UTF-8. The allOrNone parameter determines error handling for unrepresentable bytes. If allOrNone is 1, the object's contents remain unchanged when errors occur. If 0, error bytes are discarded. The method returns 1 if successful and 0 if errors occur.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
Clear
ContentsEqual
Return 1 if the contents of this object equals the contents of binData.
FindString
Return the index where the first occurrence of str is found. Return -1 if not found. The startIdx indicates the byte index where the search begins. The charset specifies the byte representation of str that is to be searched. For example, it can be utf-8, windows-1252, ansi, utf-16, etc.
GetByte
Returns the value of the byte at the given index. The returned value is an integer from 0 to 255.
GetEncoded
Retrieves the binary data as an encoded string. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns NULL on failure
GetEncodedChunk
Retrieves a chunk of the binary data and returns it in encoded form. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns NULL on failure
GetEncodedSb
Writes the encoded data to a StringBuilder. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
GetHash
Returns the hash of the contents of this object. The algorithm is the hash algorithm, and can be sha1, sha256, sha384, sha512, sha3-224, sha3-256, sha3-384, sha3-512, md2, md5, ripemd128, ripemd160,ripemd256, or ripemd320.
The encoding can be base64, modBase64, base64Url, base32, base58, qp (for quoted-printable), url (for url-encoding), hex, hexLower, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns NULL on failure
GetInt2
Returns the value of the 16-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetInt4
Returns the value of the 32-bit signed integer stored in big-endian or little-endian byte ordering at the given index.
topGetString
Interprets the bytes according to charset and returns the string. The charset can be utf-8, utf-16, ansi, iso-8859-*, windows-125*, or any of the supported character encodings listed in the link below.
Returns NULL on failure
GetTextChunk
Returns numBytes bytes starting at startIdx. The bytes are interpreted according to charset (for example, utf-8, ansi, utf-16, windows-1252, etc.)
Returns NULL on failure
IsValidUtf8
Returns 1 if this object contains valid utf-8 byte sequences. Any invalid byte sequence that is not valid utf-8 will cause this function to return 0.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topLoadEncoded
Loads binary data from an encoded string, replacing the current contents, if any. The encoding may be Base64, modBase64, base64Url, Base32, Base58, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Hex, or any of the encodings found at Chilkat Binary Encodings List.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
topLoadFile
RemoveByteVal
Removes bytes having a specified value (0-255). For example, to remove all null bytes, pass 0 in value.
RemoveChunk
SecureClear
Securely clears the contents by writing 0 bytes to the memory prior to deallocating the internal memory.
Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.
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