- Ensure all results for server variable requests are returned as strings, to avoid binary-mode result issues with certain versions of MySQL (including 4.1.14). This should address Issue #509.

 - TableDocument now requests the server version string from MCPConnection, aiding caching  

17 files changed, 105 insertions, 74 deletions

diff --git a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.h b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.h
index e5de0713..f9e0fa82 100644
--- a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.h
+++ b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.h
@@ -173,6 +173,7 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr);
 - (double)timeConnected;
 
 // Server versions
+- (NSString *)serverVersionString;
 - (NSInteger)serverMajorVersion;
 - (NSInteger)serverMinorVersion;
 - (NSInteger)serverReleaseVersion;
diff --git a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.m b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.m
index aa5dc842..9f87c0d1 100644
--- a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.m
+++ b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPConnection.m
@@ -734,6 +734,24 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr)
 #pragma mark Server versions
 
 /**
+ * Return the server version string, or nil on failure.
+ */
+- (NSString *)serverVersionString
+{
+	if (mConnected) {
+		if (serverVersionString == nil) {
+			[self _getServerVersionString];
+		}
+
+		if (serverVersionString) {
+			return [NSString stringWithString:serverVersionString];
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil;
+}
+
+/**
  * rReturn the server major version or -1 on fail
  */
 - (NSInteger)serverMajorVersion
@@ -1744,6 +1762,7 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr)
 		NSString	*theQuery = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW TABLES FROM %@ LIKE '%@'", dbName, tablesName];
 		theResult = [self queryString:theQuery];
 	}
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	
 	return theResult;
 }
@@ -1773,7 +1792,8 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr)
 		NSString	*theQuery = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@ LIKE '%@'", tableName, fieldsName];
 		theResult = [self queryString:theQuery];
 	}
-	
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
+
 	return theResult;
 }
 
@@ -1936,16 +1956,12 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr)
 		NSArray		*theRow;
 		id			theTZName;
 		NSTimeZone	*theTZ;
-		
+
+		[theSessionTZ setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 		[theSessionTZ dataSeek:1ULL];
 		theRow = [theSessionTZ fetchRowAsArray];
 		theTZName = [theRow objectAtIndex:1];
 		
-		if ( [theTZName isKindOfClass:[NSData class]] ) {
-			// MySQL 4.1.14 returns the mysql variables as NSData
-			theTZName = [self stringWithText:theTZName];
-		}
-		
 		if ([theTZName isEqualToString:@"SYSTEM"]) {
 			[theSessionTZ dataSeek:0ULL];
 			theRow = [theSessionTZ fetchRowAsArray];
@@ -1963,6 +1979,7 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr)
 			// By default set the time zone to the local one..
 			// Try to get the name using the previously available variable:
 			theSessionTZ = [self queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'timezone'"];
+			[theSessionTZ setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 			[theSessionTZ dataSeek:0ULL];
 			theRow = [theSessionTZ fetchRowAsArray];
 			theTZName = [theRow objectAtIndex:1];
@@ -2003,6 +2020,7 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr)
 	if (0 == mysql_query(mConnection, queryString)) {
 		if (mysql_field_count(mConnection) != 0) {
 			MCPResult *r = [[MCPResult alloc] initWithMySQLPtr:mConnection encoding:mEncoding timeZone:mTimeZone];
+			[r setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 			NSArray *a = [r fetchRowAsArray];
 			[r autorelease];
 			if([a count]) {
@@ -2183,6 +2201,7 @@ void performThreadedKeepAlive(void *ptr)
 {
 	if (mConnected) {
 		MCPResult *theResult = [self queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'version'"];
+		[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 		
 		if ([theResult numOfRows]) {
 			[theResult dataSeek:0];
diff --git a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.h b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.h
index 4f0d1f80..ac0217de 100644
--- a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.h
+++ b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.h
@@ -38,8 +38,9 @@
 	MYSQL_RES		 *mResult;		 /* The MYSQL_RES structure of the C API. */
 	NSArray			 *mNames;		 /* An NSArray holding the name of the columns. */
 	NSStringEncoding mEncoding;		 /* The encoding used by MySQL server, to ISO-1 default. */
-	NSUInteger	 mNumOfFields;	 /* The number of fields in the result. */
+	NSUInteger		 mNumOfFields;	 /* The number of fields in the result. */
 	NSTimeZone		 *mTimeZone;	 /* The time zone of the connection when the query was made. */
+	BOOL			 mReturnDataAsStrings;	/* Whether to return data types as strings */
 }
 
 // Initialization
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@
 - (BOOL)isBlobForKey:(NSString *)key;
 
 // Conversion
+- (void) setReturnDataAsStrings:(BOOL)alwaysConvertData;
 - (NSString *)stringWithText:(NSData *)theTextData;
 - (const char *)cStringFromString:(NSString *)theString;
 - (NSString *)stringWithCString:(const char *)theCString;
diff --git a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.m b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.m
index d2061fca..98f26b6c 100644
--- a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.m
+++ b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPResult.m
@@ -243,6 +243,8 @@ const OUR_CHARSET our_charsets60[] =
 {
 	if ((self = [super init])) {
 		mEncoding = [MCPConnection defaultMySQLEncoding];
+		mReturnDataAsStrings = NO;
+		mTimeZone = nil;
 		
 		if (mResult) {
 			mysql_free_result(mResult);
@@ -269,6 +271,7 @@ const OUR_CHARSET our_charsets60[] =
 	if ((self = [super init])) {
 		mEncoding = iEncoding;
 		mTimeZone = [iTimeZone retain];
+		mReturnDataAsStrings = NO;
 		
 		if (mResult) {
 			mysql_free_result(mResult);
@@ -303,6 +306,7 @@ const OUR_CHARSET our_charsets60[] =
 	if ((self = [super init])) {
 		mEncoding = iEncoding;
 		mTimeZone = [iTimeZone retain];
+		mReturnDataAsStrings = NO;
 		
 		if (mResult) {
 			mysql_free_result(mResult);
@@ -452,8 +456,9 @@ const OUR_CHARSET our_charsets60[] =
 				case FIELD_TYPE_LONG_BLOB:
 					theCurrentObj = [NSData dataWithBytes:theData length:theLengths[i]];
 					
-					// It is TEXT and NOT BLOB
-					if (!(theField[i].flags & BINARY_FLAG)) { 
+					// If the field is TEXT and NOT BLOB, or if force-return-as-string is
+					// enabled, return a NSString instead of NSData
+					if (mReturnDataAsStrings || !(theField[i].flags & BINARY_FLAG)) { 
 						theCurrentObj = [self stringWithText:theCurrentObj];
 					}
 					
@@ -989,6 +994,19 @@ const OUR_CHARSET our_charsets60[] =
 #pragma mark Conversion
 
 /**
+ * Set whether the result should return data types as strings.  This may be useful
+ * for queries where the result may be returned in either string or data form, but
+ * will be converted to string for display and use anyway.
+ * Note that certain MySQL versions also return data types for strings - eg SHOW
+ * commands like SHOW CREATE TABLE or SHOW VARIABLES, and this conversion can be
+ * necessary there.
+ */
+- (void) setReturnDataAsStrings:(BOOL)alwaysConvertData
+{
+	mReturnDataAsStrings = alwaysConvertData;
+}
+
+/**
  * Use the string encoding to convert the returned NSData to a string (for a TEXT field).
  */
 - (NSString *)stringWithText:(NSData *)theTextData
@@ -1325,14 +1343,10 @@ const OUR_CHARSET our_charsets60[] =
  */
 - (void) dealloc
 {
-	if (mResult) {
-		mysql_free_result(mResult);
-	}
-	
-	if (mNames) {
-		[mNames autorelease];
-	}
-	
+	if (mResult) mysql_free_result(mResult);
+	if (mNames) [mNames autorelease];
+	if (mTimeZone) [mTimeZone release];
+
 	[super dealloc];
 }
 
diff --git a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPStreamingResult.m b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPStreamingResult.m
index d675cebc..58a8c3a6 100644
--- a/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPStreamingResult.m
+++ b/Frameworks/MCPKit/MCPFoundationKit/MCPStreamingResult.m
@@ -276,8 +276,8 @@
 				case FIELD_TYPE_MEDIUM_BLOB:
 				case FIELD_TYPE_LONG_BLOB:
 					
-					// For binary data, return the data
-					if (fieldDefinitions[i].flags & BINARY_FLAG) {
+					// For binary data, return the data if force-return-as-string is not enabled
+					if ((fieldDefinitions[i].flags & BINARY_FLAG) && !mReturnDataAsStrings) {
 						cellData = [NSData dataWithBytes:theData length:fieldLengths[i]];
 					}
 					else {
diff --git a/Source/CustomQuery.m b/Source/CustomQuery.m
index 17763ddd..71ed2ec4 100644
--- a/Source/CustomQuery.m
+++ b/Source/CustomQuery.m
@@ -1278,6 +1278,7 @@
 	// Get the primary key if there is one
 	MCPResult *theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@.%@", 
 		[database backtickQuotedString], [tableForColumn backtickQuotedString]]];
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	if ([theResult numOfRows]) [theResult dataSeek:0];
 	int i;
 	for ( i = 0 ; i < [theResult numOfRows] ; i++ ) {
diff --git a/Source/SPDatabaseData.m b/Source/SPDatabaseData.m
index 98fedd4f..07220f59 100644
--- a/Source/SPDatabaseData.m
+++ b/Source/SPDatabaseData.m
@@ -299,6 +299,7 @@ const CHAR_SETS charsets[] =
 			
 			// Check if InnoDB support is enabled
 			MCPResult *result = [connection queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'have_innodb'"];
+			[result setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 			
 			if ([result numOfRows] == 1) {
 				if ([[[result fetchRowAsDictionary] objectForKey:@"Value"] isEqualToString:@"YES"]) {
diff --git a/Source/SPExportController.m b/Source/SPExportController.m
index d7c0882f..c4fa682c 100644
--- a/Source/SPExportController.m
+++ b/Source/SPExportController.m
@@ -418,6 +418,7 @@
 		
 		// Determine whether this table is a table or a view via the create table command, and get the table details
 		MCPResult *queryResult = [connection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW CREATE TABLE %@", [tableName backtickQuotedString]]];
+		[queryResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 		
 		if ([queryResult numOfRows]) {
 			tableDetails = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithDictionary:[queryResult fetchRowAsDictionary]];
diff --git a/Source/SPProcessListController.m b/Source/SPProcessListController.m
index 5087ef2a..63529a29 100644
--- a/Source/SPProcessListController.m
+++ b/Source/SPProcessListController.m
@@ -418,6 +418,7 @@
 	
 	// Get processes
 	MCPResult *processList = [connection queryString:@"SHOW PROCESSLIST"];
+	[processList setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	
 	if ([processList numOfRows]) [processList dataSeek:0];
 	
diff --git a/Source/SPServerVariablesController.m b/Source/SPServerVariablesController.m
index 3046c2dd..dd3632e5 100644
--- a/Source/SPServerVariablesController.m
+++ b/Source/SPServerVariablesController.m
@@ -289,6 +289,7 @@
 	
 	// Get processes
 	MCPResult *serverVariables = [connection queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES"];
+	[serverVariables setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	
 	if ([serverVariables numOfRows]) [serverVariables dataSeek:0];
 	
diff --git a/Source/SPTableData.m b/Source/SPTableData.m
index fb777b9d..0ccac919 100644
--- a/Source/SPTableData.m
+++ b/Source/SPTableData.m
@@ -320,6 +320,7 @@
 
 	// Retrieve the CREATE TABLE syntax for the table
 	MCPResult *theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW CREATE TABLE %@", [tableName backtickQuotedString]]];
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	
 	// Check for any errors, but only display them if a connection still exists
 	if (![[mySQLConnection getLastErrorMessage] isEqualToString:@""]) {
@@ -339,13 +340,8 @@
 	
 	if (tableCreateSyntax != nil) [tableCreateSyntax release];
 	
-	if ([[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1] isKindOfClass:[NSData class]]) {
-		tableCreateSyntax = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1] encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]];
-		createTableParser = [[SPSQLParser alloc] initWithData:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1] encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]]; 
-	} else {
-		tableCreateSyntax = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1]];
-		createTableParser = [[SPSQLParser alloc] initWithString:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1]];
-	}
+	tableCreateSyntax = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1]];
+	createTableParser = [[SPSQLParser alloc] initWithString:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1]];
 
 	// Extract the fields definition string from the CREATE TABLE syntax
 	fieldsParser = [[SPSQLParser alloc] initWithString:[createTableParser trimAndReturnStringFromCharacter:'(' toCharacter:')' trimmingInclusively:YES returningInclusively:NO skippingBrackets:YES]];
@@ -632,6 +628,7 @@
 	MCPResult *theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString: [NSString stringWithFormat: @"SHOW CREATE TABLE %@",
 																					   [viewName backtickQuotedString]
 																					]];
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 
 	// Check for any errors, but only display them if a connection still exists
 	if (![[mySQLConnection getLastErrorMessage] isEqualToString:@""]) {
@@ -645,17 +642,11 @@
 	}
 
 	// Retrieve the table syntax string
-	NSArray *syntaxResult = [theResult fetchRowAsArray];
-	
-	if ([[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1] isKindOfClass:[NSData class]]) {
-		tableCreateSyntax = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1] encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]];
-	} else {
-		tableCreateSyntax = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:[syntaxResult objectAtIndex:1]];
-	}
-
+	tableCreateSyntax = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:[[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:1]];
 
 	// Retrieve the SHOW COLUMNS syntax for the table
 	theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@", [viewName backtickQuotedString]]];
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 
 	// Check for any errors, but only display them if a connection still exists
 	if (![[mySQLConnection getLastErrorMessage] isEqualToString:@""]) {
@@ -757,6 +748,7 @@
 	}
 	else if ([tableListInstance tableType] == SP_TABLETYPE_TABLE) {
 		tableStatusResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW TABLE STATUS LIKE '%@'", escapedTableName ]];
+		[tableStatusResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	}
 
 	// Check for any errors, only displaying them if the connection hasn't been terminated
@@ -1008,6 +1000,7 @@
 	NSMutableArray *keyColumns = [NSMutableArray array];
 
 	r = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@ WHERE `key` = 'PRI'", [selectedTable backtickQuotedString]]];
+	[r setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 
 	if([r numOfRows] < 1) return nil;
 
diff --git a/Source/SPUserManager.m b/Source/SPUserManager.m
index 811e353e..83ffa52d 100644
--- a/Source/SPUserManager.m
+++ b/Source/SPUserManager.m
@@ -148,6 +148,7 @@
 
 	// Attempt to use SHOW PRIVILEGES syntax - supported since 4.1.0
 	result = [self.mySqlConnection queryString:@"SHOW PRIVILEGES"];
+	[result setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	if ([result numOfRows]) {
 		while (privRow = [result fetchRowAsArray]) {
 			privKey = [NSMutableString stringWithString:[[privRow objectAtIndex:0] lowercaseString]];
@@ -159,6 +160,7 @@
 	// If that fails, base privilege support on the mysql.users columns
 	} else {
 		result = [self.mySqlConnection queryString:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM `mysql`.`user`"];
+		[result setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 		while (privRow = [result fetchRowAsArray]) {
 			privKey = [NSMutableString stringWithString:[privRow objectAtIndex:0]];
 			if (![privKey hasSuffix:@"_priv"]) continue;
diff --git a/Source/TableContent.m b/Source/TableContent.m
index 4cc301c2..c4f60029 100644
--- a/Source/TableContent.m
+++ b/Source/TableContent.m
@@ -1279,6 +1279,7 @@
 	
 	//set autoincrement fields to NULL
 	queryResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@", [selectedTable backtickQuotedString]]];
+	[queryResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	if ([queryResult numOfRows]) [queryResult dataSeek:0];
 	for ( i = 0 ; i < [queryResult numOfRows] ; i++ ) {
 		row = [queryResult fetchRowAsDictionary];
@@ -1899,6 +1900,7 @@
 		setLimit = NO;
 		keys = [[NSMutableArray alloc] init];
 		theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@", [selectedTable backtickQuotedString]]];
+		[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 		if ([theResult numOfRows]) [theResult dataSeek:0];
 		for ( i = 0 ; i < [theResult numOfRows] ; i++ ) {
 			theRow = [theResult fetchRowAsDictionary];
diff --git a/Source/TableDocument.m b/Source/TableDocument.m
index 0bd76f6f..c7ab7105 100644
--- a/Source/TableDocument.m
+++ b/Source/TableDocument.m
@@ -648,15 +648,7 @@
 	}
 
 	// Get the mysql version
-	theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'version'"];
-	version = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:1];
-	if (mySQLVersion) [mySQLVersion release], mySQLVersion = nil;
-	if ( [version isKindOfClass:[NSData class]] ) {
-		// starting with MySQL 4.1.14 the mysql variables are returned as nsdata
-		mySQLVersion = [[NSString alloc] initWithData:version encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]];
-	} else {
-		mySQLVersion = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:version];
-	}
+	mySQLVersion = [[NSString alloc] initWithString:[mySQLConnection serverVersionString]];
 
 	// Update the selected database if appropriate
 	if ([connectionController database] && ![[connectionController database] isEqualToString:@""]) {
@@ -1640,17 +1632,22 @@
  */
 - (NSString *)databaseEncoding
 {
+	MCPResult *charSetResult;
+	NSString *mysqlEncoding;
+
 	// MySQL > 4.0
-	id mysqlEncoding = [[[mySQLConnection queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character_set_connection'"] fetchRowAsDictionary] objectForKey:@"Value"];
+	charSetResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character_set_connection'"];
+	[charSetResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
+	mysqlEncoding = [[charSetResult fetchRowAsDictionary] objectForKey:@"Value"];
 	_supportsEncoding = (mysqlEncoding != nil);
 
-	if ( [mysqlEncoding isKindOfClass:[NSData class]] ) { // MySQL 4.1.14 returns the mysql variables as nsdata
-		mysqlEncoding = [mySQLConnection stringWithText:mysqlEncoding];
-	}
-	if ( !mysqlEncoding ) { // mysql 4.0 or older -> only default character set possible, cannot choose others using "set names xy"
+	// mysql 4.0 or older -> only default character set possible, cannot choose others using "set names xy"
+	if ( !mysqlEncoding ) {
 		mysqlEncoding = [[[mySQLConnection queryString:@"SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character_set'"] fetchRowAsDictionary] objectForKey:@"Value"];
 	}
-	if ( !mysqlEncoding ) { // older version? -> set encoding to mysql default encoding latin1
+
+	// older version? -> set encoding to mysql default encoding latin1
+	if ( !mysqlEncoding ) {
 		NSLog(@"Error: no character encoding found, mysql version is %@", [self mySQLVersion]);
 		mysqlEncoding = @"latin1";
 	}
@@ -1709,6 +1706,7 @@
 	if (query == nil) return;
 
 	MCPResult *theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:query];
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 
 	// Check for errors, only displaying if the connection hasn't been terminated
 	if (![[mySQLConnection getLastErrorMessage] isEqualToString:@""]) {
@@ -1719,10 +1717,7 @@
 		return;
 	}
 
-	id tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:colOffs];
-
-	if ([tableSyntax isKindOfClass:[NSData class]])
-		tableSyntax = [[[NSString alloc] initWithData:tableSyntax encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]] autorelease];
+	NSString *tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:colOffs];
 
 	[createTableSyntaxTextField setStringValue:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"Create syntax for %@ '%@'", typeString, [self table]]];
 
@@ -1767,6 +1762,7 @@
 		return;
 
 	MCPResult *theResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:query];
+	[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 
 	// Check for errors, only displaying if the connection hasn't been terminated
 	if (![[mySQLConnection getLastErrorMessage] isEqualToString:@""]) {
@@ -1776,10 +1772,7 @@
 		return;
 	}
 
-	id tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:colOffs];
-
-	if ([tableSyntax isKindOfClass:[NSData class]])
-		tableSyntax = [[[NSString alloc] initWithData:tableSyntax encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]] autorelease];
+	NSString *tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:colOffs];
 
 	// copy to the clipboard
 	NSPasteboard *pb = [NSPasteboard generalPasteboard];
diff --git a/Source/TableDump.m b/Source/TableDump.m
index de782dd6..39bc6d0f 100644
--- a/Source/TableDump.m
+++ b/Source/TableDump.m
@@ -1420,6 +1420,7 @@
 		
 		// Determine whether this table is a table or a view via the create table command, and keep the create table syntax
 		queryResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW CREATE TABLE %@", [tableName backtickQuotedString]]];
+		[queryResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 		if ( [queryResult numOfRows] ) {
 			tableDetails = [[NSDictionary alloc] initWithDictionary:[queryResult fetchRowAsDictionary]];
 			if ([tableDetails objectForKey:@"Create View"]) {
@@ -2353,6 +2354,7 @@
 
 		// Determine whether this table is a table or a view via the create table command, and get the table details
 		queryResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW CREATE TABLE %@", [tableName backtickQuotedString]]];
+		[queryResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 		if ( [queryResult numOfRows] ) {
 			tableDetails = [NSDictionary dictionaryWithDictionary:[queryResult fetchRowAsDictionary]];
 			if ([tableDetails objectForKey:@"Create View"]) {
diff --git a/Source/TableSource.m b/Source/TableSource.m
index 6f73e9a5..bf431326 100644
--- a/Source/TableSource.m
+++ b/Source/TableSource.m
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ loads aTable, put it in an array, update the tableViewColumns and reload the tab
   
 	//perform queries and load results in array (each row as a dictionary)
 	tableSourceResult = [[mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@", [selectedTable backtickQuotedString]]] retain];
+	[tableSourceResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	
 	// listFieldsFromTable is broken in the current version of the framework (no back-ticks for table name)!
 	//	tableSourceResult = [[mySQLConnection listFieldsFromTable:selectedTable] retain];
@@ -106,6 +107,7 @@ loads aTable, put it in an array, update the tableViewColumns and reload the tab
 	[tableSourceResult release];
 
 	indexResult = [[mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW INDEX FROM %@", [selectedTable backtickQuotedString]]] retain];
+	[indexResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	//	[indexes setArray:[[self fetchResultAsArray:indexResult] retain]];
 	[indexes setArray:[self fetchResultAsArray:indexResult]];
 	[indexResult release];
@@ -972,6 +974,7 @@ returns a dictionary containing enum/set field names as key and possible values
 	int i;
 	
 	queryResult = [mySQLConnection queryString:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"SHOW COLUMNS FROM %@", [selectedTable backtickQuotedString]]];
+	[queryResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
 	
 	if ([queryResult numOfRows]) [queryResult dataSeek:0];
 	[tempResult addObject:[queryResult fetchFieldNames]];
diff --git a/Source/TablesList.m b/Source/TablesList.m
index 6d60faed..3a6462a7 100644
--- a/Source/TablesList.m
+++ b/Source/TablesList.m
@@ -1242,10 +1242,8 @@
 				return;
 			}
 
-			id tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:2];
-
-			if ([tableSyntax isKindOfClass:[NSData class]])
-				tableSyntax = [[[NSString alloc] initWithData:tableSyntax encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]] autorelease];
+			[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
+			NSString *tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:2];
 
 			// replace the old name by the new one and drop the old one
 			[mySQLConnection queryString:[tableSyntax stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfRegex:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"(?<=%@ )(`[^`]+?`)", tableType] withString:[anObject backtickQuotedString]]];
@@ -1991,7 +1989,8 @@
 												[tableType uppercaseString],
 												[[filteredTables objectAtIndex:[tablesListView selectedRow]] backtickQuotedString]
 												]];
-	
+	[queryResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
+
 	if ( ![queryResult numOfRows] ) {
 		//error while getting table structure
 		NSBeginAlertSheet(NSLocalizedString(@"Error", @"error"), NSLocalizedString(@"OK", @"OK button"), nil, nil, tableWindow, self, nil, nil, nil,
@@ -2044,10 +2043,8 @@
 				return;
 			}
 			
-			id tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:2];
-			
-			if ([tableSyntax isKindOfClass:[NSData class]])
-				tableSyntax = [[[NSString alloc] initWithData:tableSyntax encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]] autorelease];
+			[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
+			NSString *tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:2];
 			
 			// replace the old name by the new one and drop the old one
 			[mySQLConnection queryString:[tableSyntax stringByReplacingOccurrencesOfRegex:[NSString stringWithFormat:@"(?<=%@ )(`[^`]+?`)", [tableType uppercaseString]] withString:[[copyTableNameField stringValue] backtickQuotedString]]];
@@ -2173,14 +2170,12 @@
 			}
 			return;
 		}
-		
-		id tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:2];
-		
-		if ([tableSyntax isKindOfClass:[NSData class]])
-			tableSyntax = [[[NSString alloc] initWithData:tableSyntax encoding:[mySQLConnection encoding]] autorelease];
-		
+
+		[theResult setReturnDataAsStrings:YES];
+		NSString *tableSyntax = [[theResult fetchRowAsArray] objectAtIndex:2];
+
 		NSString *tableType;
-		
+
 		switch([self tableType]){
 			case SP_TABLETYPE_TABLE:
 				tableType = NSLocalizedString(@"table",@"table");