Guardian Procedure Calls Reference Manual

The B Edit Descriptor
The binary edit descriptor is used to display or interpret data values in binary (base 2) integer
form.
The B edit descriptor has these forms:
Bw.mORBw
is an unsigned integer constant that defines the total field width and cannot exceed 255. The field processed
is the w characters starting at the current position. After the field is processed, the current position is advanced
by w characters.
w
is an unsigned integer constant that defines the number of digits that must be present on output.m
The B edit descriptor is used in the same manner as the I edit descriptor where the number base
(b) is 2, except that the B edit descriptor always treats the internal data value as unsigned. (See
The I Edit Descriptor (page 1560).) For example, if the data item is an INT(16) in TAL, these conversions
take place:
ResultInternal ValueFormat
| 101|5B16
| 000011|3B16.6
|1111111111111101|-5B16.6
The "|" character is used to denote the boundaries of the output field.
The D Edit Descriptor
The exponential edit descriptor is used to display or interpret data in floating-point form, usually
used when data values have extremely large or extremely small magnitude. The D edit descriptor
is of the form:
Dw.d This descriptor is identical to the Ew.d descriptor.
This edit descriptor is used in the same manner as the E edit descriptor (below).
The E Edit Descriptor
The exponential edit descriptor is used to display or interpret data in floating-point form. It is usually
used when data values have extremely large or extremely small magnitude.
The E edit descriptor has one of these forms:
Ew.dEeOREw.d
an unsigned integer constant that defines the total field width (including the exponent) and cannot exceed
255. The field processed is the w characters starting at the current position. After the field is processed, the
current position is advanced by w characters
w
an unsigned integer constant that defines the number of digits that are to appear to the right of the decimal
point in the external field.
d
an unsigned integer constant that defines the number of digits in the exponent. If Ew.d is used, e takes the
value 2.
e
The input field consists of an optional sign, followed by a string of digits optionally containing a
decimal point. A decimal point appearing in the input field overrides the portion of the descriptor
that specifies the decimal point location. However, if you omit the decimal point, the rightmost d
digits of the string, with leading zeros assumed if necessary, are interpreted as the fractional part
of the value represented. The string of digits can be of any length. Those beyond the limit of
Repeatable Edit Descriptors 1557