Re: How to access packed data type array in Char of DB2/400 in java

    Hi Charlie,

    By effectively using a proprietary format, that somebody has shut out
the data from standard SQL or even Query, and caused additional work in
every program that wants to use it.

    The way I would approach the problem is to use ResultSet's
getBinaryStream() or getBytes() on the column.  I think that would work.  If
not, you'll have to retrieve it as a String, then try to convert back from
the Unicode attempt to EBCDIC.  The conversion to String may lose data.

    Once you have the raw data, you will either have to know the length of
each element or do some searching for the sign in the lower nibble to
discover it.  With the raw data and element size in hand, you'll need to put
each element into a byte array.

    At that point, you can use JTOpen's
com.ibm.as400.access.AS400PackedDecimal class to convert the elements
properly.

    Sounds like fun.

    An alternative may be to use an RPG program, which I assume already
knows how to strip out the data into an array, as a stored procedure to hand
back the data.  That, of course, would mean two trips to the database.


                                                         Joe Sam

Joe Sam Shirah -        http://www.conceptgo.com
conceptGO         -        Consulting/Development/Outsourcing
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jialei Guan" <jguan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Java Programming on and around the iSeries / AS400"
<java400-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2003 10:39 AM
Subject: How to access packed data type array in Char of DB2/400 in java


> Hi,
> In RPG programming, someone like to put a packed numeric array in a Char
> field of DB2/400.
> How can I get the array from this Char field?
>
> Thanks,
>
>
> Charlie
>