Use the PICTURE and USAGE clauses to declare DBCS data items. DBCS data items can use PICTURE symbols G, G and B, or N. Each DBCS character position is 2 bytes in length.
You can specify a DBCS data item by using the USAGE DISPLAY-1 clause. When you use PICTURE symbol G, you must specify USAGE DISPLAY-1. When you use PICTURE symbol N but omit the USAGE clause, USAGE DISPLAY-1 or USAGE NATIONAL is implied depending on the setting of the NSYMBOL compiler option.
If you use a VALUE clause with the USAGE clause in the declaration of a DBCS item, you must specify a DBCS literal or the figurative constant SPACE or SPACES.
If a data item has USAGE DISPLAY-1 (either explicitly or implicitly), the selected locale must indicate a code page that includes DBCS characters. If the code page of the locale does not include DBCS characters, such data items are flagged as errors.
For the purpose of handling reference modifications, each character in a DBCS data item is considered to occupy the number of bytes that corresponds to the code-page width (that is, 2).
related tasks
Setting the locale
related references
Locales and code pages that are supported
NSYMBOL