Other special characters---> 000001è 5

[claudeb]

Hi,
I have a variable that is defined as a
01 TOT-DAYS PIC S9(07) COMP-3.
in order to have a "peek" at it i defined a second variable
01 WS-TOTAL-DAYS PIC S9(07).
and moved the first one into the second one.
i get "000001è" in the display. I think its value is -11, but i am not positive.
How can i find out ? thanks.

 

[renaldini]

MOVE it to a field with PIC -Z(7) and display it. This should do the trick!

//Renaldini

 

[kurup]

hi claudeb,
what do u mean by 'having a "peak" at it '..i didnt get that, will u please clarify??
regards
kurup

 

[pipk]

I think it was claudeb's attempts at a pun. Not a bad effort mind you. Static Apnea - snorkelling in a swimming pool without the snorkel?

 

[claudeb]

thanks guys, renaldini's advice worked perfectly.

 

[NinaToo]

Just out of curiosity, what did it turn out to be?

Because I remember getting that wierd character in some displays. I can't find it on any EBCDIC number/symbol chart (the ones I have seen only list those with positive numbers).

Nina Too

 

[renaldini]

Hi NinaToo!

You can test it if you got a hex editor, just put the character or what ever in a file and save it. Then you open it in a hex editor, and check it out. I tried "è" in WinHex(on a PC, soo it is in ASCII) and found it to be "E8".

//Renaldini

 

[claudeb]

hi Nina,
1è= 10 for sure, i guess that è=0 (????)

 

[NinaToo]

-----------
" You can test it if you got a hex editor, just put the character or what ever in a file and save it. Then you open it in a hex editor, and check it out. I tried 'è' in WinHex(on a PC, soo it is in ASCII) and found it to be 'E8'. "
-----------
So this would be 22 in decimal?

What sort of language or configuration is the original character (I cannot type it from my keyboard)? Is it coded in any sort of data type?

Thank, Nina Too

 

[RonaldB]

Nina,

i too found a value of 'E8', but that was in a HTML special character table; i haven't found any standard ASCII table that lists this value, but i guess it's right.
In MS Word, using an american keyboard setting, you can reproduce it by typing '`' (accent grave) and an 'e'. Usually, word processors also offer some sort of function for entering ASCII values directly.
By the way: hex E8 = decimal 232. I'm still puzzled by the 'E' though; i would expect a C, D or F there, but i'm not accustomed to ASCII in conjunction with COBOL.

Regards,
Ronald.

 

[NinaToo]

Ronald, sorry for the hex arithmetic mistake. Forgot to multiply 14 by 16. Ooopss....... :~/

But what is the actual meaning of this character? Does anyone know? Who uses it and why?

Nina Too

 

[RonaldB]

Nina,

what do you mean: in relation to computing, or typing ?
The accent grave is, among others, used in the french language. It turns the sound of an 'e' (sounds like eigh) into 'eehh' (like the e in weld).

Regards,
Ronald.

 

[claudeb]

chère Nina -----> Dear Nina
Ma mère---------> My mother

 

[NinaToo]

Mon ami, I did learn French in high school and in college. So I know about the accent grave.

But I've seen this character ('e' with '`' over it) in several odd places in computer printouts, usually in conjunction with other "undisplayable" characters. There is no listing for it in EBCDIC, and I gather, not in ASCII either. So I was wondering if anyone knows what "computer language" this guy is? Does anyone know?

Nina Too

 

[RonaldB]

Nina,

sorry, barking up the wrong tree there.
Any collection of data containing a byte with the value hex E8 will show an è when displayed as ASCII characters. I don't think it depends on any specific language.
But, regarding your previous posts in here, i'm afraid i'm barking up yet another wrong tree ...
Could you eleborate on that question, before i give more stupid answers ?

Regards,
Ronald.

 

[NinaToo]

Thanks for your attempt, Ronald.

Let me try and rephrase the question. Is 'e' with the '`' over it used for any specific function other than representing an 'e' with an accent grave? Or else for representing hex E8? And does E8 have any specific function or significance other than meaning the number 232?

Thanks, Nina Too

 

[RonaldB]

Nina,

not that i know of. Maybe somebody else has any suggestions.

Regards,
Ronald.

 

[RoseAnnM]

If you define your working storage fields with a sign and try to display them, the last character always looks odd. Since the sign is on the last byte, the printer or console that you are displaying the number on will pick up whatever charater the hex configuration represents in the font being used for the display. The edited display works because you strip the sign from the last byte in the edit and the hex configuration is then correct for the font being used on the printer or console.