## 9.6. Bit String Functions and Operators

This section describes functions and operators for examining and manipulating bit strings, that is values of the types `bit` and `bit varying`. (While only type `bit` is mentioned in these tables, values of type `bit varying` can be used interchangeably.) Bit strings support the usual comparison operators shown in Table 9.1, as well as the operators shown in Table 9.14.

Table 9.14. Bit String Operators

Operator Description Example(s)
`bit` `||` `bit` → `bit` Concatenation `B'10001' || B'011'` → `10001011`
`bit` `&` `bit` → `bit` Bitwise AND (inputs must be of equal length) `B'10001' & B'01101'` → `00001`
`bit` `|` `bit` → `bit` Bitwise OR (inputs must be of equal length) `B'10001' | B'01101'` → `11101`
`bit` `#` `bit` → `bit` Bitwise exclusive OR (inputs must be of equal length) `B'10001' # B'01101'` → `11100`
`~` `bit` → `bit` Bitwise NOT `~ B'10001'` → `01110`
`bit` `<<` `integer` → `bit` Bitwise shift left (string length is preserved) `B'10001' << 3` → `01000`
`bit` `>>` `integer` → `bit` Bitwise shift right (string length is preserved) `B'10001' >> 2` → `00100`

Some of the functions available for binary strings are also available for bit strings, as shown in Table 9.15.

Table 9.15. Bit String Functions

Function Description Example(s)
`bit_length` ( `bit` ) → `integer` Returns number of bits in the bit string. `bit_length(B'10111')` → `5`
`length` ( `bit` ) → `integer` Returns number of bits in the bit string. `length(B'10111')` → `5`
`octet_length` ( `bit` ) → `integer` Returns number of bytes in the bit string. `octet_length(B'1011111011')` → `2`
`overlay` ( `bits` `bit` `PLACING` `newsubstring` `bit` `FROM` `start` `integer` [ `FOR` `count` `integer` ] ) → `bit` Replaces the substring of `bits` that starts at the `start`'th bit and extends for `count` bits with `newsubstring`. If `count` is omitted, it defaults to the length of `newsubstring`. `overlay(B'01010101010101010' placing B'11111' from 2 for 3)` → `0111110101010101010`
`position` ( `substring` `bit` `IN` `bits` `bit` ) → `integer` Returns first starting index of the specified `substring` within `bits`, or zero if it's not present. `position(B'010' in B'000001101011')` → `8`
`substring` ( `bits` `bit` [ `FROM` `start` `integer` ] [ `FOR` `count` `integer` ] ) → `bit` Extracts the substring of `bits` starting at the `start`'th bit if that is specified, and stopping after `count` bits if that is specified. Provide at least one of `start` and `count`. `substring(B'110010111111' from 3 for 2)` → `00`
`get_bit` ( `bits` `bit`, `n` `integer` ) → `integer` Extracts `n`'th bit from bit string; the first (leftmost) bit is bit 0. `get_bit(B'101010101010101010', 6)` → `1`
`set_bit` ( `bits` `bit`, `n` `integer`, `newvalue` `integer` ) → `bit` Sets `n`'th bit in bit string to `newvalue`; the first (leftmost) bit is bit 0. `set_bit(B'101010101010101010', 6, 0)` → `101010001010101010`

In addition, it is possible to cast integral values to and from type `bit`. Casting an integer to `bit(n)` copies the rightmost `n` bits. Casting an integer to a bit string width wider than the integer itself will sign-extend on the left. Some examples:

    44::bit(10)                    0000101100
    44::bit(3)                     100
    cast(-44 as bit(12))           111111010100
    '1110'::bit(4)::integer        14

Note that casting to just “bit” means casting to `bit(1)`, and so will deliver only the least significant bit of the integer.