# 7.4. ODPI-C Structure dpiBytes

This structure is used for passing byte strings to and from the database in the structure dpiData.

char *dpiBytes.ptr

  Specifies the pointer to the memory allocated by ODPI-C for the variable. For strings, data written to this memory should be in the encoding appropriate to the type of data being transferred. When data is transferred from the database it will be in the correct encoding already.

uint32_t dpiBytes.length

  Specifies the length of the byte string, in bytes.

const char *dpiBytes.encoding

  Specifies the encoding for character data. This value is populated when data is transferred from the database. It is ignored when data is being transferred to the database.