QWCCVTDT frustrations

The Convert Date and Time Format API (QWCCVTDT) is giving me a bit of
any argument when trying to convert *DTS format date/time stamps. I
don't have any problem with any other conversion.
 
I've called it two ways - one works, the other doesn't - and I think
they both should.
 
The first method (which works nicely) I use a technique as follows:
 
Into the program that calls the API I pass a pointer to the variable
that has the data to be converted. Then things work as follows:
 
InVarPtr            S                *
(the pointer to the variable that contains the *DTS data to convert,
passed into program)
InVar                 S               *    Based(InVarPtr)
OutVar              S            17A
InFmt                S            10A   Inz('*DTS')
OutFmt             S            10A   Inz('*YYMD')
 
Call        'QWCCVTDT'
Parm                                InFmt
Parm                                InVar
Parm                                OutFmt
Parm                                OutVar
 
The above converts the *DTS value just fine.
 
Working in a second program, it was easier just to work with the data
directly, so I did what I thought would be the same thing and passed
into the program a 17 long character variable containing the *DTS value.
So it appears more like this:
 
InVar                 S            17A
(character argument passed into the program)
OutVar              S            17A
InFmt                S            10A   Inz('*DTS')
OutFmt             S            10A   Inz('*YYMD')
 
Call        'QWCCVTDT'
Parm                                InFmt
Parm                                InVar
Parm                                OutFmt
Parm                                OutVar
 
This method produces very bizarre dates. The date I'm converting is from
a data queue message, and I'm confident that I have a valid *DTS value.
In fact, I debugged the programs and took the exact variable being
passed to the API in example 1 and plugged it into example 2, and it
still fails. I can't figure out why. It's almost like handling the
variable as a character causes a problem, when handling it as a pointer
does not.
I get no errors from the API, and I'm sure the *DTS value is left
justified. According to the API, only the first 8 characters are used
anyway if using *DTS data. The API documentation seems to imply that you
can pass any length argument in, but only the first 8, 16 or 17 will be
used as appropriate.
 
For those who want to play with exact numbers, the *DTS value in this
example is X'89A37F16E9B68000'. Program 1 converts this to 
'20050516132424' and program 2 converts the same hex value
to'20410310170421' (I've dropped the milliseconds from these output
values)
 
Anyone seen anything like this with this API?
 
Regardless of why example 1 works and example 2 doesn't, I'd like to
move more toward example 2 for other internal structure reasons. So
other than the confusion of why one works and the other doesn't, I'd
like to know what I'm doing wrong in #2
 
Thanks
 
JPW 

 

The bitterness of poor quality remains long after low pricing is
forgotten! 

 

Cautillo, Leon M.

 

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