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Internationalize ABL Applications

Why use Unicode

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Table of Contents
  • About Developing Applications for Deployment Worldwide
    • The importance of internationalization and localization
    • Strategies for responding to a global market
      • Internationalized applications
      • Localized applications
    • How OpenEdge supports internationalization
      • Multi-byte applications
      • OpenEdge support for Unicode
      • Character processing
      • OpenEdge ABL elements
      • International databases
      • OpenEdge messages
      • Regional parameter files
    • How OpenEdge products support internationalization
    • Design guidelines
  • About Code Pages
    • Code pages and character sets
      • Code pages
      • Character sets
    • Environments with multiple code pages
    • Code-page conversion
      • Streams and code-page conversion
        • Streams and the PROTERMCAP file
      • Valid and invalid code-page conversions
      • Sockets and code-page conversion
    • The undefined code page
    • Determine which code page an application component uses
      • ASCII character data
      • 8-bit character data
      • OpenEdge databases
      • Character terminals
      • Windows screen and keyboard
      • Printers
      • Table dump (.d) files and other external text files
      • OpenEdge libraries
  • Character Processing Tables
    • The convmap.dat file and its tables
      • Character attribute tables
      • Case tables
      • Collations and collation tables
      • Code-page conversion tables
        • Convert to and from UTF-8
      • Modify convmap.dat or a file it includes
      • Compile the convmap.dat file
      • Provide access to the convmap.cp file
      • Modify OpenEdge collation tables
        • Preliminary considerations
        • Dump a collation table
        • Edit the collation table
        • Load the modified collation table
        • Rebuild the indexes for collation table changes
        • Modify, compile, and provide access to the CONVMAP file
      • Find additional information on character processing tables other than word-break tables
    • Word-break tables
      • Why OpenEdge uses word-break tables
      • Create and modify word-break tables
        • Word-delimiter attributes
        • Word-break table syntax
      • Compile word-break tables
      • Provide access to word-break tables
      • Associate word-break tables with databases
      • Rebuild the indexes for word-break table changes
      • Associate word-break rule file with temp-tables
  • About Preparing the Code
    • Guidelines and methodology
      • Structure source code
      • Process by characters
      • Use variables
      • Code with translation in mind
    • Input and output
      • Keyboards
      • Printers
    • Data-processing issues
      • Numeric formats
      • Measurements
      • Currencies
      • Dates
      • Time
      • Addresses
    • Sort data
      • Local conventions
      • Use collation tables
        • ABL Comparisons
        • Database collation
      • Use case tables
  • User Interface Design and Preparation
    • Screen layout and composition
      • Equipment differences
      • Monitors
      • Keyboards
      • Culturally specific issues
        • Abbreviations and acronyms
        • Address formats
        • Calendar, date, and time formats
        • Colors and sounds
        • Numeric formats
        • Currency formats
        • Field labels and field sizes
        • Financial rules
        • Names and titles
        • Phone number formats
        • Language issues
    • Graphics and icons
      • Text in graphics and icons
      • Images to avoid in graphics and icons
        • Images of animals
        • Images based on puns or word play
        • Images of body parts or gestures
        • Images biased towards a particular culture or region
        • References to sports
        • Symbols related to religion or culture
    • Design with the AppBuilder
      • Localize SmartObject masters
      • Localize SmartObject instances
      • Use multiple layouts
        • Character-client layouts
    • Design to allow for translation
      • Text expansion and contraction
        • Word length
        • Typefaces and point sizes
        • Word order
      • Message text
      • Layout
  • Rules and Techniques for Databases
    • OpenEdge database name restrictions
    • Empty databases
      • Empty databases supplied by OpenEdge
      • Create an empty database in a particular code page
    • Scan databases for character conflicts
      • New characters
      • Use PROUTIL to perform the scan
    • Convert a database and its data to a different code page
    • Load table dump files
      • Code-page trailers
      • Techniques for loading table dump files
        • Use an ABL program
        • Use the Data Dictionary utility
        • Use the PROUTIL utility with the BULKLOAD option
    • Specify -cpinternal and -cpstream with database utilities
  • About the Use of SQL
    • Start database servers
    • Use SQL database servers
    • Code-page conversion in SQL applications
    • Use SQL clients
      • Java/JDBC clients
      • ODBC clients
      • Characteristics of OpenEdge SQL clients
        • Internal code page
        • Code page for displaying PROMSGS sent by the server to the client
    • Utilities for working with SQL databases
      • SQLDUMP
      • SQLLOAD
      • SQLSCHEMA
    • About using the SQL language
      • Unit of length when working with character strings
      • Maximum bytes required for CHAR and VARCHAR
  • About Multi-byte Code Pages
    • Definitions of key terms
      • Terms for code pages
      • Terms for characters
      • Terms for bytes
    • OpenEdge support
    • Input
      • Keyboard and mouse
        • Data flow in single-byte applications
        • Data flow in double-byte applications
      • ABL
        • Use ABL to simulate inputting double-byte characters
        • Use ABL to simulate key presses and mouse clicks
      • Automatic input validation
    • Output
      • FORMAT phrase
        • Fit multi-byte characters into the available columns
        • Fit multi-byte characters around formatting characters
        • Allow only single-byte formatting characters
      • About printing
        • Print from Windows
        • Print from applications with a character interface
        • Test printers
      • Character-client color limit
    • Inside the multi-byte application
      • Distinguish characters, bytes, and columns
      • Techniques for working with multi-byte characters
        • Choose the appropriate unit of measure
        • Test character strings for multi-byte characters
        • Test for a lead-byte value
      • ABL support for processing multi-byte characters
    • Issues specific to multi-byte code pages
      • OpenEdge support for multi-byte code pages
        • About the Thai code page and collations
        • Additional GB18030 code page considerations
      • Valid and invalid code-page conversions
        • Determine valid code-page conversions (for non-Unicode databases)
        • Convert between double byte and single byte
        • Convert from double byte to double byte
      • User-defined characters
        • Limitations of user-defined characters
        • Guidelines for using user-defined characters
      • Collate multi-byte characters
        • Sort order of trail bytes
      • Default word-break behavior of characters in multi-byte code pages
    • Guidelines for using multi-byte characters
  • About the Use of Unicode
    • Unicode overview
    • Why use Unicode
      • The limits of multiple code pages
      • The advantages of Unicode
    • Use of Unicode with OpenEdge products
    • About using Unicode with OpenEdge databases
      • Convert an OpenEdge database to UTF-8 using the PROUTIL CONVCHAR utility
      • Convert an OpenEdge database to UTF-8 using dump and load
      • Compile, make available, and apply the UTF-8 word-break rules to a database
    • Use of Unicode with OpenEdge applications
      • Rules for using Unicode with the OpenEdge character client
      • Rules for using Unicode with the OpenEdge graphical client
      • Unicode application example
    • Guidelines for using Unicode
    • Unicode support for supplementary characters
      • Use UTF-16 in the ASC and CHR functions
      • Behavior of ASC and CHR functions
      • New and modified keywords
      • Limitations
    • ABL constructs that support Unicode filenames
  • Deployment and Configuration
    • The progress.ini file and the Windows registry
      • [Startup]
      • [fonts]
      • Specify scripts
    • The PROTERMCAP file
    • The PROMSGS file
    • Parameter files
    • The conmgr.properties file
    • Report Builder parameters
    • Additional guidelines
      • Use the UNIX character client with double-byte code pages
      • Specify -cpinternal and -cpstream with database utilities
  • OpenEdge Resources
    • Files in the OpenEdge/prolang directory
    • Startup parameters and settings
    • ABL
    • OpenEdge SQL
      • SQL elements that support internationalization and localization
      • Format specifiers allowed with the TO_CHAR and TO_DATE functions
    • Utilities
    • Determine the code page
  • Character Processing Table Formats
    • Character attribute table
    • Case table
    • Collation table
    • Code-page conversion table
      • Convmap changes
    • Word-break table
Table of Contents

Why use Unicode

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  • Last Updated: February 11, 2026
  • 1 minute read
    • OpenEdge
    • Version 13.0
    • Documentation

The Unicode approach, with its UTF-8 encoding and multi-byte characters, might seem complicated. But the other approach, using multiple code pages, can be even more complicated.

Contents
  • The limits of multiple code pages
  • The advantages of Unicode
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