Managing data conversion for user-defined data types within a database management system

A computer program product for managing data conversion for a custom data type in a database system, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by a processor, to:

• store a custom data type definition and one or more converters within a database management system, each converter being configured to convert instances of the custom data type between a binary format and a specific programming language format;
• receive, by the database management system, a request from an application for a custom data type instance in a specified programming language format;
• respond to the request with:
• the custom data type definition,
• a converter configured to convert instances of the custom data type between the binary format and the requested programming language format, and
• the requested custom data type instance expressed in the binary format;
• and
• convert, by the application, the custom data type instance expressed in the binary format into a custom data type instance expressed in the specified programming language format using a read method of the converter and the custom data type definition.