Endianness
The byte order used to encode binary numbers, such as little-endian or big-endian.
Category: Formats · Also known as: byte order, little-endian, big-endian
Definition (expanded)
WKB includes a byte-order flag at the start of the binary. Most real-world WKB is little-endian, but readers should handle both. If a WKB decode fails in one tool but works in another, endianness handling is a common culprit.
Related terms
WKB (Well-Known Binary)A compact binary format for geometries, widely used in spatial databases and APIs.EWKB (Extended WKB)A PostGIS extension to WKB that can include SRID and additional flags.Hex (hexadecimal)A text encoding that represents bytes using characters 0-9 and a-f, common for WKB strings.Base64A text encoding that represents bytes using A-Z, a-z, 0-9, +, and /, also used for WKB in some APIs.