EBCDIC Text Conversion

EBCDIC files that do not contain packed-decimal fields are easily translated to ASCII by the standard VEDIT package. Even 100+ megabyte-sized files are quickly converted (typical conversion speed is in excess of 250 MB per minute).

Simple Conversion Using VEDIT

To translate an EBCDIC file (without packed fields) into ASCII:

Open the EBCDIC file in the normal manner, e.g., with {FILE, Open file}.
Select {BLOCK, Select all} to mark the entire file as a block.
Select {EDIT, Translate, Translate from EBCDIC} to translate the file to ASCII.
If the original EBCDIC file consisted of fixed-length records without end-of-record characters, you may want to add an ASCII "Newline" (Carriage-Return and Line-Feed) to the end of each record so that Windows/DOS programs can read it easily.
Select {CONFIG, File handling, File type} and set the correct record length. Records should now be nicely aligned on the screen.
Select {EDIT, Convert, Convert macro}. In the macro's menu, select "Fixed length records to Newlines".
Select {FILE, Close buffer} or {FILE, Exit} to save the translated file.

Similarly, an ASCII file can be translated to EBCDIC with {EDIT, Translate, Translate to EBCDIC}.

IBM PC EBCDIC-ASCII Issues

IMPORTANT: Since IBM PC ASCII and EBCDIC have somewhat different character sets, not all characters will translate without problems. In particular, there is no equivalent of most IBM PC graphics characters. Therefore, if you translate a file to EBCDIC and then back again to ASCII, you may not have the same file again. Some punctuation and most control and graphics characters will have changed. In this case, you may prefer to edit the file in EBCDIC without translating it.

The EBCDIC translation table is built into VEDIT. However, for custom needs you can modify the EBCDIC.TBL file and then load the revised EBCDIC translation table into VEDIT. This supports various International code-pages for both ASCII and EBCDIC.

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