Storing password hashes

Question

In tutorials about web app security all example databases have character-typed fields for hashes. Are there any (security) reasons to store password hashes as Base64-encoded string. Why not store it as binary blob?

Answer 1

No, there are no security reasons for this, as the data stored is the same (just a different format). However, there are practical reasons: it is much easier to compare a Base64 string in your database with one from a log file, for example. This helps with debugging.