Re: Using iconv to convert data FROM file READ from IFS

michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
wrote:
> 
> I iconv the data on the pointer for the length of the data on the pointer 
> back onto itself. Again this does not return an error, but the pointer is 
> cleared and the length is set to zero. What am I doing wrong?
> I could use QDCXLATE but that would be admitting defeat.

Michael, if iconv converts 10 bytes, it moves both the pointer
parameters ahead 10 bytes and subtracts 10 from the input and output
length parameters.  (Assuming the output length is also 10.)

You need extra pointer variables and length variables to pass to iconv.

   tempInput = inputDataPtr;
   tempOutput = outputDataPtr;
   tempInputLen = lengthOfInput;
   tempOutputLen = lengthOfOutput;
   iconv (conv : tempInput : tempInputLen : tempOutput : tempOutputLen);

Now if everything went well, tempInputLen is zero, meaning it converted
the entire input.  The actual length of the output is (lengthOfOutput -
tempOutputLen); tempOutputLen has the remainder of the output that it
didn't need.

But I don't know if iconv supports having the output be the same actual
storage as the input.  You might need to use a separate output buffer. 
It might work ok if the conversion is byte for byte, but if the output
value was longer, say from EBCDIC to unicode, or ASCII with DBCS to
EBCDIC with DBCS, then I would think it would overwrite the data that it
hadn't converted yet.