Code-set files

A code-set file (also called a character-mapping or charmap file) defines a code set for subsequent use by locale and code-set-conversion files.

A GLS locale includes the appropriate code-set file for the code set that it supports. In addition, HCL Informix® products can perform code-set conversion between the code sets that have code-set files.

When the HCL Informix® product needs to obtain code-set information, it accesses one of the GLS code-set files in the following table.
Platform Code-set file
UNIX $INFORMIXDIR/gls/cmZ/code.cmo
Windows %INFORMIXDIR%\gls\cmZ\code.cmo

In these paths, INFORMIXDIR is the environment variable that specifies the directory in which you install the HCL Informix® product, gls is the subdirectory that contains the GLS files, and Z represents the version number for the code-set object-file format.

Each code-set file has the following two forms:
  • The code-set source file is an ASCII file that describes the characters of a character set.

    This file has a .cm extension and serves as documentation for the corresponding object file.

  • The code-set object file is a compiled form of the code-set information.

    The object file is used to create locale object files. Object code-set files have a .cmo file extension.