# Miscellaneous Functions - [FORMAT\_BYTES](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/miscellaneous-functions-format_bytes.md): Convert bytes to a human-readable string. This function formats a numeric byte count into units like KiB, MiB, GiB, up to EiB. - [GET\_LOCK](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/get_lock.md): Acquire a named user-level lock. This function attempts to obtain a lock with a specified name and timeout, returning 1 on success or 0 on timeout. - [INET6\_ATON](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/inet6_aton.md): Convert an IPv6 address to binary. This function takes an IPv6 (or IPv4) address string and returns it as a VARBINARY(16) string. - [INET6\_NTOA](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/inet6_ntoa.md): Convert a binary IPv6 address to string. This function takes a binary IPv6 address (like from INET6\_ATON) and returns its human-readable string representation. - [INET\_ATON](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/inet_aton.md): Convert an IPv4 address to an integer. This function takes a dotted-quad IP string (e.g., '1.2.3.4') and returns its numeric representation. - [INET\_NTOA](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/inet_ntoa.md): Convert an integer to an IPv4 address. This function takes a numeric IP value and returns its dotted-quad string representation. - [IS\_FREE\_LOCK](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/is_free_lock.md): Check if a named lock is free. This function returns 1 if the specified lock is available (not currently held), and 0 if it is in use. - [IS\_IPV4](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/is_ipv4.md): Check validity of an IPv4 address. This function returns 1 if the argument is a valid IPv4 address string, and 0 otherwise. - [IS\_IPV4\_COMPAT](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/is_ipv4_compat.md): Check if an IPv6 address is IPv4-compatible. This function returns 1 if the binary IPv6 address represents an IPv4-compatible address. - [IS\_IPV4\_MAPPED](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/is_ipv4_mapped.md): Check if an IPv6 address is IPv4-mapped. This function returns 1 if the binary IPv6 address represents an IPv4-mapped address. - [IS\_IPV6](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/is_ipv6.md): Check validity of an IPv6 address. This function returns 1 if the argument is a valid IPv6 address string, and 0 otherwise. - [IS\_USED\_LOCK](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/is_used_lock.md): Check who holds a named lock. This function returns the connection identifier of the client holding the lock, or NULL if the lock is free. - [MASTER\_GTID\_WAIT](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/master_gtid_wait.md): Wait for a replica to apply a GTID. This function blocks until the replica has executed transactions up to the specified Global Transaction ID. - [MASTER\_POS\_WAIT](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/master_pos_wait.md): Wait for a replica to reach a log position. This function blocks until the replica has read and applied updates up to a specified position in the master's binary log. - [NAME\_CONST](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/name_const.md): Force a column name for an expression. This function is primarily used internally for replication to ensure consistent column naming. - [OLD\_VALUE](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/old-value.md): Access values in ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE. This function retrieves the value that would have been inserted into a column if no key conflict occurred. - [RELEASE\_ALL\_LOCKS](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/release_all_locks.md): Release all named locks held by the session. This function frees all user-level locks acquired with GET\_LOCK() in the current connection. - [RELEASE\_LOCK](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/release_lock.md): Release a specific named lock. This function frees a user-level lock previously obtained with GET\_LOCK(), allowing others to acquire it. - [SLEEP](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/sleep.md): Pause query execution. This function pauses the script for a specified number of seconds, returning 0 if successful or 1 if interrupted. - [SYS\_GUID](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/sys_guid.md): Generate a UUID without hyphens. This Oracle-compatible function returns a globally unique identifier as a 32-character hexadecimal string. - [UUID](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/uuid.md): Official UUID() function reference: generate UUIDv1 values, 128-bit 36-character format (aaaaaaaa-bbbb-cccc-dddd-eeeeeeeeeeee), and replication safety. - [UUID\_SHORT](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/uuid_short.md): Generate a short 64-bit UUID. This function returns a unique, monotonically increasing integer suitable for use as a compact identifier. - [UUID\_v4](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/uuid_v4.md): Generate a random UUID (v4). This function returns a version 4 UUID, which is generated using random numbers. - [UUID\_v7](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/uuid_v7.md): Generate a time-ordered UUID (v7). This function returns a version 7 UUID, which is sortable by creation time. - [VALUES / VALUE](https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions/values-value.md): Access values in ON DUPLICATE KEY UPDATE. This function retrieves the value that would have been inserted into a column if no key conflict occurred. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://mariadb.com/docs/server/reference/sql-functions/secondary-functions/miscellaneous-functions.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.