BLOBs
Most database systems provide a data type that can store raw data, and PostgreSQL is no exception. I use the term raw data to mean that the database doesn't understand the structure or meaning of a value. In contrast, PostgreSQL does understand the structure and meaning of other data types. For example, when you define an INTEGER column, PostgreSQL knows that the bytes of data that you place into that column are supposed to represent an integer value. PostgreSQL knows what an integer is—it can add integers, multiply them, convert them to and from string form, and so on. Raw data, on the other hand, is just a collection of bits—PostgreSQL can't infer any meaning in the data.
PostgreSQL offers the type BYTEA for storing raw data. A BYTEA ...
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