DDS Positional Entry Considerations

The following section describes, by position, DDS for describing database files. Positions not mentioned have no special considerations for DBCS.

DDS Length (Positions 30 through 34)

The length of a field containing bracketed-DBCS data can range from 4 through 32 766 bytes (4 through 32 740 bytes if the field is variable length). The length of a DBCS-graphic field can range from 1 through 16 383 characters (1 through 16 370 characters if the field is variable length).

When determining the length of a field containing DBCS data, consider the following:

For example, a bracketed-DBCS field that contains up to 3 DBCS characters, 1 shift-in character, and 1 shift-out character, has 8 bytes of data:

(3 characters x 2 bytes) + (shift-out + shift-in) = 8

A DBCS-graphic field that contains up to 3 DBCS characters has 6 bytes of data:

(3 characters x 2 bytes) = 6

DDS Data Type (Position 35)

You can use one of the following DBCS data types:

J (Only)
Fields can contain only DBCS data.

E (Either)
Fields can contain either DBCS or alphanumeric data.

O (Open)
Fields can contain both DBCS and alphanumeric data. Distinguish DBCS data from alphanumeric data with shift-control characters.

G (Graphic)
Fields can contain only DBCS data with no shift-control characters.

DDS Decimal (Positions 36 and 37)

Leave these positions blank when using DBCS data.