Positional entry considerations for ICF files that use DBCS

Learn about double-byte character set (DBCS) considerations for describing the length and data type positions for ICF files.

Those positions not mentioned have no special considerations for DBCS.

Length (positions 30 through 34)

The length of a field containing bracketed-DBCS data can range from 4 through 32 767 bytes.

Keep the following considerations in mind when determining the length of a DBCS field:

Each DBCS character is 2 bytes long.
Include both shift-control characters in the length of the field. Together, these characters are 2 bytes long.
For example, a field that contains up to 3 DBCS characters, 1 shift-in character, and 1 shift-out character, has 8 bytes of data:
```
(3 characters x 2 bytes) + (shift-out + shift-in) = 8
```

Data type (position 35)

The data type O (DBCS capable) makes a field DBCS.

Both bracketed-DBCS and alphanumeric data can be used in a DBCS-capable field. Use shift-control characters to distinguish DBCS data from alphanumeric data.