OPEN DATASET - encoding

Syntax

... ENCODING { DEFAULT
             | {UTF-8 [SKIPPING|WITH BYTE-ORDER MARK]}
             | NON-UNICODE } ... .

Alternatives:

1. ... DEFAULT

2. ... UTF-8 [SKIPPING|WITH BYTE-ORDER MARK]

3. ... NON-UNICODE

Effect

: The additions after ENCODING determine the character representation in which the content of the file is handled. The addition ENCODING must be specified in Unicode programs and may only be omitted in non-Unicode programs. If the addition ENCODING is not specified in non-Unicode programs, the addition NON-UNICODE is used implicitly.

Note

: It is recommended that files are always written in UTF-8, if all readers can process this format. Otherwise, the code page can depend on the text environment and it is difficult to identify the code page from the file content.

Alternative 1

... DEFAULT

Effect

: In a Unicode system, the specification DEFAULT corresponds to UTF-8, and in a non-Unicode system, it corresponds to NON-UNICODE.

Alternative 2

... UTF-8 [SKIPPING|WITH BYTE-ORDER MARK]

Addition:

... SKIPPING|WITH BYTE-ORDER MARK

Effect

: The characters in the file are handled according to the Unicode character representation UTF-8.

Notes

• : The class CL_ABAP_FILE_UTILITIES contains the method CHECK_UTF8 for determining whether a file is a UTF-8 file.
  
• A UTF-16 file can only be opened as a binary file.
  
  
  

Addition

... SKIPPING|WITH BYTE-ORDER MARK

Effect

: This addition defines how the byte order mark (BOM), with which a file encoded in the UTF-8 format can begin, is handled. The BOM is a sequence of 3 bytes that indicates that a file is encoded in UTF-8.

• SKIPPING BYTE-ORDER MARK
  is only permitted if the file is opened for reading or changing using FOR INPUT or FOR UPDATE. If there is a BOM at the start of the file, this is ignored and the file pointer is set after it. Without the addition, the BOM is handled as normal file content.
  
  
• WITH BYTE-ORDER MARK
  is only permitted if the file is opened for writing using FOR OUTPUT. When the file is opened, a BOM is inserted at the start of the file. Without the addition, no BOM is inserted.
  

The addition BYTE-ORDER MARK cannot be used together with the AT POSITION.

Notes

• : When opening UTF-8 files for reading, it is recommended to always enter the addition SKIPPING BYTE-ORDER MARK so that a BOM is not handled as file content.
  
• It is recommended to always open a file for reading as a UTF-8 with the addition WITH BYTE-ORDER MARK, if all readers can process this format.
  
  
  

Alternative 3

... NON-UNICODE

Effect

: In a non-Unicode system, the data is read or written without conversion. In a Unicode system, the characters of the file are handled according to the non-Unicode codepage that would be assigned at the time of reading or writing in a non-Unicode system according to the entry in the database table TCP0C of the current text environment.