ARTICLE
Character String and Byte String Processing in Unicode Programs
In Unicode programs, character string and byte string processing are
strictly separated. The operands of character string processing must be
character-like data objects , and
operands in byte string processing must be
byte-like data objects . In
non-Unicode programs, byte strings are normally handled in the same way
as character strings.
Statements for Character String and Byte String Processing
In the statements for character
string and byte string processing , in Unicode programs, the
distinction is made in the statements that are intended for both types
of processing by the optional addition IN CHARACTER|BYTE MODE . In
this case, IN CHARACTER MODE is the default.
Note
The addition IN CHARACTER|BYTE MODE is also used in the
statements for determining length and offset:
DESCRIBE FIELD ... LENGTH
DESCRIBE DISTANCE
In this case, the specifications are mandatory.
Relational Operators for Character Strings and Byte Strings
Relational operators exist both for character
strings and for byte strings . In Unicode
programs, the latter can no longer be used for byte strings.
Functions for Character Strings and Byte Strings
The description functions are
divided into description functions for character strings and description
functions for byte strings. In particular, in Unicode programs,
strlen can now only be used for character-like arguments, while
xstrlen is available for byte-like arguments.
String Templates
Character string templates can only be used
in Unicode programs.
Documentation extract taken from SAP system, � Copyright SAP AG. All rights reserved