> I'm trying to figure out the following ISQL behavior:
>
> SQL> select rdb$db_key, substring(rdb$db_key from 1 for 8)
> CON> from rdb$database;
>
> DB_KEY SUBSTRING
> ================ ================
>
> 0000000100000001 0100000001000000
>
>
> Does db_key get some special treatment?

Yes. If the column is OCTETS string, than ISQL will show it using Hex numbers.
And if the column name is DB_KEY, then it is displayed backwards
because it actually represents number, not string.

Ivan
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