Setting up Db2 to ensure that it interprets characters correctly

You need to make sure that Db2 uses the correct code page (which is identified by a CCSID) to interpret your data. Otherwise, Db2 might store or use incorrect data. This situation is most likely to occur when characters are converted or transferred between systems.

Procedure

To ensure that Db2 interprets characters correctly:

  1. Determine the CCSID of your data sources.
  2. Based on the CCSIDs of your data sources, specify the correct CCSIDs for your subsystem, objects, and applications in Db2. If the CCSIDs of all of your data sources do not match and you need help determining the appropriate CCSIDs to specify, call IBM® Support.
    Recommendation: If possible, set up your system, applications, and objects to avoid character conversion on z/OS®, because character conversion has an expensive CPU cost. You can avoid character conversion by using the same CCSID in all of your data sources. Of course, do not do so at the expense of data integrity.
  3. Set up z/OS Unicode Services.
  4. Optional: Define any additional character conversions.

    Character conversions are already defined in the following two places:

    The Db2 catalog table SYSIBM.SYSSTRINGS
    This table contains character conversion definitions from IBM. You might have also added your own.
    The conversion image in z/OS Unicode Services
    You configured this image when you set up z/OS Unicode Services.

    However, you might need to define additional conversions. If you are not sure if a particular character conversion is defined to Db2, check your character conversion definitions.

What to do next

Recommendation: If your Db2 subsystem has users that use different CCSIDs, be careful when you create and name objects. Choose identifiers, such as table names and column names, that can be represented on all clients that access the Db2 subsystem.