UNSPEC

UNSPEC returns a bit string that is the internal coded form of x.


>>-UNSPEC(x)---------------------------------------------------><

x: Scalar, array, structure, or union expression.

The UNSPEC built-in function is subject to the following rules:

Under the compiler option USAGE( UNSPEC(IBM) ),
- UNSPEC of structure references and expressions is not allowed.
- UNSPEC of an array yields an array of BIT.
Under the compiler option USAGE( UNSPEC(ANS) ),
- For aggregates, UNSPEC is allowed only for those that contain no padding bytes or bits.
- The result will always be BIT scalar. UNSPEC of an array does not yield an array of BIT.

Note: Use of UNSPEC can affect the portability of your program.

The length of the returned bit string depends on the attributes of x, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Length of bit string returned by UNSPEC
Bit string length	Attribute of x
8	SIGNED FIXED BINARY(p,q), 1 <= p <= 7 UNSIGNED FIXED BINARY(p,q), 1 <= p <= 8 ORDINAL SIGNED PRECISION(p), 1 <= p <= 7 ORDINAL UNSIGNED PRECISION(p), 1 <= p <= 8
16	SIGNED FIXED BINARY(p,q), 8 <= p <= 15 UNSIGNED FIXED BINARY(p,q), 9 <= p <= 16 ORDINAL SIGNED PRECISION(p), 8 <= p <= 15 ORDINAL UNSIGNED PRECISION(p), 9 <= p <= 16
32	ENTRY LIMITED, under LP(32) SIGNED FIXED BINARY(p,q), 16 <= p <= 31 UNSIGNED FIXED BINARY(p,q), 17 <= p <= 32 ORDINAL SIGNED PRECISION(p), 16 <= p <= 31 ORDINAL UNSIGNED PRECISION(p), 17 <= p<= 32 FLOAT BINARY(p), 1 <= p <= 21 FLOAT DECIMAL(p), 1 <= p <= 6 if not DFP FLOAT DECIMAL(p), 1 <= p <= 7 if DFP OFFSET, under OFFSETSIZE(4) FILE constant or variable, under LP(32) POINTER(32) HANDLE(32)
64	ENTRY LIMITED, under LP(64) SIGNED FIXED BINARY(p), 31 < p UNSIGNED FIXED BINARY(p), 32 < p FLOAT BINARY(p), 21 < p < 53 FLOAT DECIMAL(p), 7 <= p <= 16 if not DFP FLOAT DECIMAL(p), 8 <= p <= 16 if DFP OFFSET, under OFFSETSIZE(8) FILE constant or variable, under LP(64) LABEL constant or variable ENTRY constant or variable POINTER(64) HANDLE (64)
128	FLOAT BINARY(p), 54 <= p FLOAT DECIMAL(p), 17 <= p TASK
n	BIT(n)
8*n	CHARACTER(n)PICTURE (with character-string-value length of n)
16*n	GRAPHIC(n)WIDECHAR(n)
16+n	BIT(n) VARYING where n is the maximum length of x
32+n	BIT(n) VARYING4 where n is the maximum length of x
16+(8*n)	CHARACTER(n) VARYING where n is the maximum length of x
32+(8*n)	CHARACTER(n) VARYING4 where n is the maximum length of x
8+(8*n)	CHARACTER(n) VARYINGZ where n is the maximum length of x
16+(16*n)	GRAPHIC(n) VARYING where n is the maximum length of x WIDECHAR(n) VARYING where n is the maximum length of x
32+(16*n)	GRAPHIC(n) VARYING4 where n is the maximum length of x WIDECHAR(n) VARYING4 where n is the maximum length of x
16+(16*n)	GRAPHIC(n) VARYINGZ where n is the maximum length of x WIDECHAR(n) VARYINGZ where n is the maximum length of x
8*(n+16)	AREA (n) under LP(32)
8*(n+32)	AREA (n) under LP(64)
8*FLOOR(n)	FIXED DECIMAL (p,q) where n = (p+2)/2

Alignment and storage requirements for program-control data can vary across supported systems.

If x is a VARYING or VARYING4 string, its length prefix is included in the returned bit string. If x is an area, the returned value includes the control information.

Published: 23 December 2018