HexToString (String function)

Convert a hexadecimal string to Ebcdic (String class)

This intrinsic function returns the unencoded value of a hex encoded string.

HexToString is available as of version 7.2 of the Sirius Mods.

Syntax

%outString = string:HexToString Throws InvalidHexData

Syntax terms

%outStr	A string variable to receive the unencoded value of the method object string.
string	A hex-encoded string value.

Exceptions

This intrinsic function can throw the following exceptions:

InvalidHexData

If the method object string does not contain a properly encoded hexadecimal value. The exception object indicates the position of the first invalid character in the method object string, or it indicates a zero if the method object string had an odd number of characters.

Usage notes

• Hex (short for hexadecimal) encoding is usually used for debugging when there is a concern that non-displayable characters (including trailing blanks) might be present in a string. By hex-encoding such a string, all non-displayable bytes are converted to displayable hexadecimal equivalents.
• The HexToString function requires a method object string with an even number of bytes.
• HexToString displays a question mark ('?') in a case where a converted hex value has no displayable character representation.
• The X function is a compile-time only equivalent of the HexToString method.
• The inverse of HexToString is StringToHex.

Examples

• The following statement displays 'Saint Marie':

   printText {'E2818995A340D481998985':hexToString}

• The following statement displays '??' because no displayable characters exist for the specified hex values:

   printText {'FFFE':hexToString(signed=true)}

See also

List of intrinsic String methods