Converting Binary Image to Readable Text

[Altemir]

I have a table that contains the following two columns:

BITS (image(16))
BIT_LENGTH (int(4))

When I look at the table, I see "OLE Object" in the BITS column. What
syntax should I use in a SELECT statement to convert the binary image
info contained in "BITS" into simple text that I can read? What role
does the BIT_LENGTH field play?

[Simon Hayes]

An image column can store any binary data, so you need to know what the
data represents before you can display it - it could be a Word
document, a PDF, an MP3 etc. Do you already know exactly what the
column is storing ('text' is the normal data type for large amounts of
text data)? As for BIT_LENGTH, it could mean anything, depending on the
data model - there's no need for an image column to have an associated
length column with it.

It sounds a little like you've just taken over a database from someone
else? If so, you might want to review this chapter from the SQL2000
Resource Kit, which provides more detailed information about storing
and retrieving BLOBs:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...rt3/c1161.mspx

Simon