How to get raw binary from hash function in ColdFusion 9?

Question

In ColdFusion 9, I am hashing a string like so: hash("bob", "SHA1"), I need it to return binary instead of a hex string.

Answer 1

Since you know the hashed string is in hex, simply decode it with the aptly named binaryDecode() function.

hashedString = hash("bob", "SHA1");
binaryData = binaryDecode(hashedString , "Hex");