How can I convert from EBCDIC to ASCII format

sgaid21 · New User Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Location: Canada

Hi all,

I have some Datasets needed to be converted from EBCDIC to ASCII format.

Is there any tool within JCL I can use to do so? Or any other suggestion.

Thanks.

superk · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 1:07 am

A few ideas off the top of my head:

SAS (The Programming Language)
OCOPY (The USS utility)
REXX (Using the Translate Function)
FTP (Think about it)
PKZIP (The Third-Party Software)

sgaid21 · New User Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Location: Canada

I might use REXX but if you can simplified for me.

Thanks,
S.G.

stodolas · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 2:39 am

Regarding the FTP option. If you connect to an FTP server and do a transfer, most default to a text transfer and will do the conversion for you. If you need to convert to ASCII on the mainframe and manipulate there, what is the acutal requirement.

Also, which EBCDIC character set are you using? I had a similar requirement and found there were quite a few different definitions.

dick scherrer · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:04 am

Hello,

How will the ASCII file be used?

The answer to that may help determine how the data is converted.

sgaid21 · New User Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Location: Canada

dick scherrer · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 4:42 am

Hello,

If you create your file with no packed or binary numbers, you should be in good shape.

Let us know if there are "opportunities".

sgaid21 · New User Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Location: Canada

Hello,

Yes, the file has PD and BI. That means the data will not convert correctly.

Then, what other possibilities that I can use. Is there a way I can code a COBOL pgm to handle that and if so then what is the conversion table I can use. Or what is the quickest way to achieve that.

Thanks,

dick scherrer · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 5:04 am

Hello,

If you are sending this data to a win-based platform (or UNIX) for that matter, you might want to write as quick COBOL program to read your file as it is, move all packed, binary, and zoned decimal (with an implied decimal place) numbers to fields that will contain numbers, a decimal point where applicable, and a minus sign for negative numbers.

Your fields would wind up with values like
000012345
000012345.67
03456.78-
etc. For ease of use on the target system, i'd make sure the fields were filled with zeros from the left (an easy move in cobol).

Once you have all of the fields converted to text, i would STRING all of the fields into an output area and insert a tilde "~" or a backslash "\" between each field. This is to ease use on the target - delimited files are easier to import than "fixed length" - IMHO. Make sure the length of the INTO field is long enought to handle all of the "strung" values.

sgaid21 · New User Joined: 12 Sep 2006 Posts: 16 Location: Canada

Hi Dick,

How about this, after I convert the PD, BI, ZD into implied decimal place or text, I FTP the o/p file and in this case they will receive the good looking file in ASCII format, is that right?

Does that work?

Thanks,

dick scherrer · Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2007 5:57 pm

Hello,