### 4.1 Converting Octave variables to bytea

Loadable Function: var2bytea (value, …)

  Save input values in uint8 arrays in Octaves binary save format.

  This function returns as many output variables as input variables are given.

  The function can be used to prepare storage of Octave variable values as binary strings in a database, if the variables types have no corresponding SQL type. Each variable type which can be correctly saved and loaded with Octaves `save` and `load` functions is acceptable. The variable value can be restored with the function `bytea2var`.

  Note that the inputs are not variable names, but values. No variable names are saved. Loading the uint8 array with `load` (possibly after dumping it to a file) will not work.

  Example: to convert the first and third column of a cell-array `c`, `[c{:, [1, 3]}] = var2bytea (c{:, [1, 3]});` can be used.

  See also: bytea2var.