Unicode: HEX via INT to Char???

[Former Member]

Hi Experts,

I have to check our Z-Programs whether they have set the Unicode-flag and change them if necessary.

One of the programs changes special character "hex 0c".

Here's the coding of non-Unicode program:

DATA: gv_xstring TYPE x.

DATA: ff_cstring TYPE c.

DATA: BEGIN OF gv_struc,     

gv_struc_val TYPE counter1,     

END OF gv_struc.

gv_xstring = '0C'.

gv_struc-gv_struc_val = gv_xstring.

ff_cstring = gv_struc.

Debugging:

Variable:                                      Value    hex-value

GV_XSTRING                                0C        0C

GV_STRUC-GV_STRUC_VAL    12          0C

FF_CSTRING                                #            0C

With "Unicode active" it is not longer allowed to make "ff_cstring = gv_struc."

How can I change the coding so that the hex-value remains the same, 0C?

In all variants I've tried the hex value changes, even if the value remains #.

Can you please help me?

Thanks so much,

Monika

[roberto_vacca2]

Hi.

Try this solution

CLASS cl_abap_container_utilities DEFINITION LOAD.

CALL METHOD cl_abap_container_utilities=>fill_container_c

   EXPORTING

     im_value               =  gv_struc

   IMPORTING

     ex_container           = ff_cstring

   EXCEPTIONS

     illegal_parameter_type = 1

     OTHERS                 = 2.

Hope to help

Bye

[Former Member]

Roberto, thanks for your quick help!

[alexander_bolloni]

Hi Monika,

it seems that you have a legacy program which moved a byte value (0c) into a CHAR field. This did work in Non-Unicode systems (as CHAR and HEX fields basically had identical size, and 0C was a valid control character) but it cannot work in Unicode systems: See, in a Unicode system a CHAR 1 field has a width of 2 bytes. But a HEX1 field still is one byte. So there cannot be a canonical conversion from CHAR1 to HEX1.

Characters in Unicode systems are represented by UTF-16 encodation, which requires 2 bytes per character. Now a 0C in Non-Unicode represents a formfeed char. In Unicode system's UTF16 encodation, a formfeed char would be U+000C which is coded binary as 000C (big-endian, SAP codepage 4102) or 0C00 (little-endian, SAP codepage 4103), depending on your HW architecture.

You can use a field-symbol to move the 2 bytes of a Type X  field  (with length = 2 !) to a CHAR1 field in Unicode. But be sure to use correct byte-order to represent your special character in the X field.

Regards,

  Alex