Re: Will IBM ever go to Unicode?

[Scott Klement <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As far as everything on the system being Unicode -- probably not, as 
it'd break virtually everything.

But the system does fully support Unicode...  you can write your 
applications in Unicode, set up your databases in Unicode, etc. It's 
really only 5250 emulation where you need to use EBCDIC. (And even that 
allows Unicode within display files.)  And in many/most cases it'll 
automatically convert between Unicode and EBCDIC as needed.

The biggest problem is getting everyone to change their applications to 
use Unicode, IMHO.  It's not really an IBM problem, every progammer in 
the world in every shop needs to write their applications in Unicode.  
It's hard enough to get IBM i shops to set their friggin' QCCSID system 
value (which involves almost no work or problems, yet it's like pulling 
teeth to get them to do it).  Getting them to rewrite their programs and 
databases to use Unicode is a million times more work...  the ability is 
there...  getting people to do it is hard.

-SK

On 2/26/2023 5:04 PM, Javier Sanchez wrote:
> What the subject wants to drive, is into a discussion about all the issues
> that are related to the conversion between EBCDIC and the rest of the
> world's most used non-EBCDIC encoding.
>
> I say "non-EBCDIC" just to say perfectly well anything that is not EBCDIC
> so clearly.  IBM's success on their IBM i systems is so good and I share
> the happiness to have made it into this world.   However, one has to face
> this very particular problem when it comes to the CCSID world.  It's so
> annoying.  There should now be only one standard.
>
> Yeah, yeah, yeah, many of you would come up and say "you can do it and
> nothing stops you".  There will always be a conflict.  While Big Blue keeps
> with EBCDIC, conversion between something different from EBCDIC and EBCDIC
> will prevail.
>
> Creating databases from CCISD 037 to something else than that, is a pain in
> the heart.  You will always get to run and fix that.
>
> Why not, at all, finally, IBM turns into Unicode for all stuff?
>
> TIA
>
> Javier Sanchez