# Error 4204: Invalid binary vector format

| Error Code | SQLSTATE | Error                               | Description                                                                                                                            |
| ---------- | -------- | ----------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 4204       |          | ER\_VECTOR\_BINARY\_FORMAT\_INVALID | Invalid binary vector format. Must use IEEE standard float representation in little-endian format. Use VEC\_FromText() to generate it. |

## Possible Causes and Solutions

### Argument is not a Valid Binary Vector

For example, the [VEC\_ToText](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/vector-functions/vec_totext) function expects a binary vector. If not given one, this error will result:

```
SELECT VEC_ToText(x'aabbcc');
+-----------------------+
| VEC_ToText(x'aabbcc') |
+-----------------------+
| NULL                  |
+-----------------------+
1 row in set, 1 warning (0.000 sec)

Warning (Code 4204): Invalid binary vector format. Must use IEEE standard float 
  representation in little-endian format. Use VEC_FromText() to generate it.
```

The solution is to provide a valid binary vector:

```
SELECT VEC_ToText(x'e360d63ebe554f3fcdbc523f4522193f5236083d');
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| VEC_ToText(x'e360d63ebe554f3fcdbc523f4522193f5236083d') |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| [0.418708,0.809902,0.823193,0.598179,0.033255]          |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
```

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