Unicode

[Former Member]

Hi Friends,

Could you tell me what does Unicode compatability code means.In my SAP ECC we use transaction code UCCCHECK what does really benefit it.?

Could you please explain me in detail?

Regards

Dinesh

[Former Member]

Hi Dinesh,

Refer the thread,

Hope it helps.

[Former Member]

Hi Dinesh,

Unicode Compatiblity is used to remove syntax errors from your program. While upgrading from 4.7 to ECC 6.0 some of the syntax are not supported by ECC 6.0. SO to remove that syntax error, UCCHECK utility will be used.

<b>Rewards points if useful.</b>

Regards,

Kinjal

[Former Member]

Hi,

We are in process of converting programs to unicode compatable, and we found more than 3000 z* programs.

Our client suggest only to convert those program which are not obsolte means which are in use from last one year, for that we already have a Ztable which collects info all programs from the time of installtion to till now.

We have collected the information and found nealry 300 z*programs are in use from last one year, is it enough if we convert only those programs .

Does Unicode conversion goes fine if we convert only those programs.

Please suggest..

Thanks,

Subhash.G

[Former Member]

Hi Subhash,

Firstly check with your client.If you are using only those 3000 programs,obviously,you convert only those programs.Once your sys become Unicode,some statements in your older programs becomes obsolete and you may get dumps if you donot make necessary conversions.So get the list of all programs that are being used.

Use transaction code UCCHECK to find out unicode errors.Make necessary conversions.

[seshatalpasai_madala]

Hi,

UCCCHECK is to check if all your programs are UNICODE compatiable.

Now UNICODE means

Unicode - Overview

Before release 6.10, SAP supported different codes for representing characters of different fonts, for example ASCII, EBCDIC as single-byte code pages or double-bytecode pages:

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) encodes every character with one byte. This means that a maximum of 256 characters can be displayed (strictly speaking, standard ASCII only encodes one character using 7 bit and can therefore only represent 128 characters. The extension to 8 bit is introduced with ISO-8859). Examples of common code pages are ISO-8859-1 for Western European, or ISO-8859-5 for Cyrillic fonts.

EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange) also encodes each character using one byte, and can therefore also represent 256 characters. For example,EBCDIC 0697/0500 is an IBM format that has been used on the AS400 platform for Western European fonts.

Double byte code pages require between 1 and 2 bytes per character. This enables the representation of 65,536 characters, of which only 10,000 to 15,000 characters are normally used. For example, the code page SJIS is used for Japanese and BIG5 for traditional Chinese fonts.

Using these character sets, all languages can be handled individually in one ABAP-based SAP system. Difficulties arise if texts from different incompatible character sets are mixed in one central system. The exchange of data between systems with incompatible character sets can also lead to problems.

The solution to this problem is the use of a character set that includes all characters at once. This is realized by Unicode Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) . A variety of Unicode character representations is possible for the Unicode character set, for example UTF, in which a character can occupy between one and four bytes.

From release 6.10, the SAP NetWeaver Application Server supports both Unicode and non-Unicode systems. Non-Unicode systems are conventional ABAP systems, in which one character is usually represented by one byte. Unicode systems are ABAP systems that are based on a Unicode character set and which have a corresponding underlying operating system, including a database.

Before release 6.10, many ABAP programming methods were based on the fact that one character corresponds to one byte. Before a system is converted to Unicode, ABAP programs must therefore be modified at all points where an explicit or implicit assumption is made about the internal length of a character.

ABAP supports this conversion using new syntax rules and new language constructs, whereby emphasis was placed on retaining as much of the existing source code as possible. As a preparation for the conversion to Unicode - but also independently of whether a system will actually be converted to Unicode - the checkbox Unicode checks active can be selected in the program properties. The transaction UCCHECK supports the activation of this check for existing programs. If this property is set, the program is identified as a Unicode program. In a Unicode program, an additional stricter syntax check is performed than in non-Unicode programs. In some cases, statements must also be enhanced by using new additions. A syntactically correct Unicode program will normally run with the same semantics and the same results in Unicode and non-Unicode systems. (Exceptions to this rule are low-level programs that query and evaluate the number of bytes per character). Programs that are required to run in both systems should therefore also be tested on both platforms.

In a Unicode system, only Unicode programs can be executed. Before converting to a Unicode system, the profile parameter abap/unicode_check should be set to "ON" so that only the execution of Unicode programs is permitted. Non-Unicode programs can only be executed in non-Unicode systems. All language constructs that have been introduced for Unicode programs can, however, also be used in non-Unicode programs.

It has been established that existing programs that have been programmed with no errors mostly fulfill the new Unicode rules and therefore require very little modification. Conversely, most programs that require significant changes are due to an error-prone and therefore questionable programming style. Even if you are not planning a conversion to a Unicode system, Unicode programs are preferable because they are more easily maintained and less prone to errors. Just as outdated and dangerous language constructs are declared obsolete and are no longer permitted for use in ABAP Objects, the rules for Unicode programs also offer increased security when programming, for example when working with character fields and mixed structures. This applies particularly for the storage of external data (for example using the file interface), which has been completely reviewed for use in Unicode programs. When creating a new program, SAP therefore recommends that you always identify the program as a Unicode program, and older programs can be converted to Unicode in stages.

Regards,

Sesh