Double-byte character set support

This section contains information that you need if you use double-byte characters.

DBCS printer and spooling support information can be found in Printing.

Double-byte character set fundamentals
Some languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, have a writing scheme that uses many different characters that cannot be represented with single-byte codes. To create coded character sets for such languages, the system uses 2 bytes to represent each character. Characters that are encoded in 2-byte code are called double-byte characters.
Process of double-byte characters
Due to the large number of double-byte characters, the system needs more information to identify each double-byte character than is needed to identify each alphanumeric character.
DBCS device file support
This section describes DBCS-capable device files and special considerations for working with DBCS-capable device files.
DBCS display support
This section provides information about displaying double-byte characters.
Copy operation of DBCS files
You can copy both spooled and nonspooled DBCS files.
Application program considerations for DBCS
This section describes considerations for writing applications that process double-byte data.
DBCS font tables
DBCS font tables contain the images of the double-byte extended characters used on the system. The system uses these images to display and print extended characters.
DBCS font files
In addition to the system-supplied DBCS font tables, the system also provides DBCS font files. These DBCS font files are physical files that contain frequently used double-byte characters.
DBCS sort tables
DBCS sort tables contain the sort information and collating sequences of all the double-byte characters used on the system. The system uses these tables to sort double-byte characters using the sort utility.
DBCS conversion dictionaries
The DBCS conversion dictionary is a collection of alphanumeric entries and their related DBCS words. The system refers to the dictionary when performing DBCS conversion.
DBCS conversion (for Japanese use only)
When you use DBCS display stations to enter double-byte data, you can use the various data entry methods supported on the display station, or you can choose to use the IBM i DBCS conversion support.

Parent topic: Reference