Re: how to use CCSID info to get corresponding data as normal text?

[Scott Klement <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I am given with the following information:
> - Field length, Binary(4)
> - Field CCSID, Binary(5)
> - Field Data, char(100)

There's no such data type as BINARY(5).  Someone is very confused.

> The above field data is encoded using CCSID given by Field CCSID. How do 
> I get corresponding data in normal English form? Any pointers to APIs 
> would be greatly appreciated.

What do you consider to be "normal" English form?  What form is the data 
in now?  (Note that CCSID only specifies a character set, not a language.)


> Similarly, I am given with another set of information:
> - Field length, Binary(4)
> - Field CCSID, Binary(5)
> - Field Country or Region ID, char(2)
> - Field Language ID, char(3)
> - Field Data, char(100)
>
> In the above information, Region ID and Language ID are also given, how 
> are these to be used to convert the Field data into a usable form?

Again, you have BINARY(5) which doesn't exist. (It has to be 2, 4 or 8) 
Where is the data now?  What format is it currently in?  Does the software 
that's passing you the above fiedls have a facility for character set 
translation, or do you have to do this manually?

If you're talking about info retrieved from an IBM API, please tell us 
which API. They're all different, and I'd rather not take a blind guess at 
what youi mean.

> What would happen if I just use the CCSID, length, data portion and the 
> API for the first scenario ignoring the Region ID and Language ID?

CCSID is just a character set.  It's a set of letters, numbers and other 
symbols that can be displayed on a screen.  It does not tell you which 
language the text is in.

The Region ID and Language ID tell you the language that the data is in, 
as well as which region it's intended for.