Amazon Redshift will no longer support the creation of new Python UDFs starting Patch 198. Existing Python UDFs will continue to function until June 30, 2026. For more information, see the [ blog post ](https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/big-data/amazon-redshift-python-user-defined-functions-will-reach-end-of-support-after-june-30-2026/). 

# FROM\_VARBYTE function
<a name="r_FROM_VARBYTE"></a>

FROM\_VARBYTE converts a binary value to a character string in the specified format. 

## Syntax
<a name="r_FROM_VARBYTE-synopsis"></a>

```
FROM_VARBYTE(binary_value, format)
```

## Arguments
<a name="r_FROM_VARBYTE-arguments"></a>

 *binary\_value*   
A binary value of data type `VARBYTE`. 

 *format*   
The format of the returned character string. Case insensitive valid values are `hex`, `binary`, `utf8` (also `utf-8` and `utf_8`), and `base64`. 

## Return type
<a name="r_FROM_VARBYTE-return-type"></a>

`VARCHAR`

## Examples
<a name="r_FROM_VARBYTE-examples"></a>

To convert the binary value `'ab'` to hexadecimal, use the following example. 

```
SELECT FROM_VARBYTE('ab', 'hex');
               
+--------------+
| from_varbyte |
+--------------+
|         6162 |
+--------------+
```

To return the binary representation of `'4d'`, use the following example. The binary representation of `'4d'` is the character string `01001101`.

```
SELECT FROM_VARBYTE(FROM_HEX('4d'), 'binary');
               
+--------------+
| from_varbyte |
+--------------+
|     01001101 |
+--------------+
```