The PICTURE Clause (DBCS)
General Rules
- There are two additional categories of data that can be described
with a PICTURE clause: DBCS and DBCS edited. Both these categories must be
described as USAGE IS DISPLAY-1.
These categories need not be
described as USAGE DISPLAY-1.
DISPLAY-1 is optional for
PIC N, but not for PIC G items.
- Its PICTURE character-string can contain only the symbol "G"

or "N".
- Its contents can be any characters in the DBCS character set.
- Its PICTURE character string can contain any combination of the
symbols "G" and "B".
- The type of editing that can be performed on an item depends on
the category to which the item belongs. The table Editing Types for Data
Categories in the topic
The PICTURE Clause is extended with the information shown in
Table 4-1 below:
Category |
Type of Editing |
DBCS |
None |
DBCS Edited |
Simple insertion "B" only |
Table 4-1: Editing Types for
Data Categories
- When used in an SBCS item, "B" (space) represents an SBCS space.
When used in a DBCS item it represents a DBCS space.
Symbols Used
The functions of these symbols are as follows:
G - |
Each "G" represents a character position which can
contain only a DBCS character or a DBCS space. |
B - |
Each "B" represents a character position into which
the DBCS space character will be inserted. |
 N
-
|
Each "N" represents a character position which can
contain only a DBCS character or a DBCS space. |
Note that each "G" or "B"
or "N"
represents a single double-byte character position.