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ENCODE() :: MySQL Function of the Day

By Carsten | April 28, 2008

Function name: ENCODE
Aliases: -
Function type: Encryption function
Purpose: Encrypt a string using a password

Description: ENCODE(’bitbybit.dk’, ‘bIgS3cR3t’) returns “bIQu/AJkKCHU2″, which is the encryption of the string ‘bitbybit’ using the password ‘bIgS3cR3t’.

To decrypt the string, use DECODE:

mysql> select DECODE('bIQu/AJkKCHU2', 'bIgS3cR3t');
+---------------------------------------------------+
| DECODE('bIQu/AJkKCHU2', 'bIgS3cR3t') |
+---------------------------------------------------+
| bitbybit.dk                                       |
+---------------------------------------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

If you copy-pasted any of the above, it probably didn’t work: ENCODE returns a binary string, which may well contain extended characters.

ENCODE/DECODE doesn’t provide you with national-security encryption, but it ought to suffice for encrypting short messages or other small pieces of information.

MySQL manual entry on ENCODE()


MySQL Function of the Day is a small series of concise information regarding most of the functions and operators available in MySQL. Inspired by PHPs funcaday, it’s meant to provide a daily dose of something in-between “Aha!” and “Ho-hum, I knew that already”, depending on your level of experience with MySQL. You can access the entire series with your browser here or pick up the RSS feed here.

Topics: MySQL Function of the day |

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