This document covers the following topics:

• Unicode Data and Parameter Access

• Database Management System Interfaces

• Work Files and Print Files

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Unicode Data and Parameter Access

The following graphic shows how Unicode data and parameters are accessed.

Database Management System Interfaces

The following topics are covered below:

• Accessing Unicode Data in an Adabas Database

• Accessing Unicode Data in a Db2 Database

Accessing Unicode Data in an Adabas Database

Natural enables users to access wide-character fields (format W) in an Adabas database.

Data Definition Module

Adabas wide-character fields (W) are mapped to the Natural data format U (Unicode).

Access Configuration

Natural receives data from Adabas and sends data to Adabas using UTF-16 as common encoding.

Before accesing unicode data in an Adabas database, you must set the correct OPRB parameter in natparm. The current OPRB parameter values are sent to Adabas with the open request. The values are used for wide-character fields and apply to the entire Adabas user session.

For detailed information, see Unicode Data in the Accessing Data in an Adabas Database part of the Programming Guide.

Accessing Unicode Data in a Db2 Database

Natural enables users to access CHAR and/or WCHAR fields in a Db2 database as Unicode data.

See also Natural for Db2 in the Database Management System Interfaces documentation.

Work Files and Print Files

The following topics are covered below:

• Work Files

• Print Files

Work Files

No special consideration is given to Unicode data when writing or reading work files. Like all other data types, Unicode data is written and read as is, without conversion.

Print Files

When sending Unicode data to print files, one or two conversion steps take place.

In a first step, Unicode data contained in a print line is converted to the default code page of the session. As a consequence, all characters which are not contained in this default code page are replaced with the substitution character.

Before passing this converted print line to the actual print access method, it is additionally checked whether a code page has been specified for the logical printer. This may have been accomplished with the CODEPAGE operand of the DEFINE PRINTER statement or the CP subparameter of the PRINT parameter. If such a code page has been given, the whole print line (not only the Unicode part of it) is converted accordingly in a second step.

The converted print line is passed to the access method, which means that print access methods do not receive Unicode data.

Example:

DEFINE PRINTER (1) CODEPAGE 'IBM01140' 
WRITE (1)   'HELLO'    U'WORLD'             
END