BYTE( ) function

Returns the character stored in the specified byte position in the current record.

Syntax

BYTE(byte_location)

Parameters

Name Type Description
byte_location numeric

The byte position to return as a character value.

The value refers to a position in the record (counting from 1), irrespective of any field definitions.

Output

Character.

Examples

Basic examples

Returns "1" from a record that begins with an ID field containing "1":

byte(112)

Advanced examples

Identify records in print files or PDFs based on consistent formatting

Use BYTE( ) to identify records in a data file where a particular character is present in a particular byte position. This is typically the case in Print Image (Report) files or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files where data is formatted in a consistent way throughout the document.

For example, to locate and extract records that include a period at byte position 113:

EXTRACT RECORD IF BYTE(113) = "." TO "Output.fil"

Remarks

When to use BYTE( )

Use BYTE( ) to examine the contents of a position in a record, without having to define a field for the purpose.

Using BYTE( ) on EBCDIC data

If you use this function on EBCDIC data, the value returned will also be EBCDIC. You may not be able to compare this to character values.

Related functions

If you want to retrieve the binary representation for specified byte location, use the BIT( ) function.

ACL Scripting Guide 14.1