For some system parameters, you can set the default method for treating data in defined Unicode columns, and you can set the default character encoding for your database.
global_unicode_as_char
This system parameter indicates the default method of treating data in defined Unicode columns. For each IBM InfoSphere CDC installation on a server, this system parameter defines the system default method of treating data in Unicode columns. If a Unicode column is set to the system default, the current system default method, as defined by this system parameter, is used.
Set this parameter to one of the following:
▪true—IBM InfoSphere CDC treats all data in Unicode columns as single-byte characters. Use this setting when Unicode columns contain single-byte character data.
▪false—IBM InfoSphere CDC treats all data in Unicode columns as a continuous bit stream. Use this setting when Unicode columns contain non-single-byte character data. Setting this system parameter to false ensures that IBM InfoSphere CDC handles non-single-byte character data in the same way as previous IBM InfoSphere CDC releases.
Note Setting this parameter to false does not ensure that replicated non-single-byte character data in Unicode columns are represented properly on the target. For replicated non-single-byte character data, you may have to apply user exit programs or other customization to properly represent data in Unicode columns. For more information about user exit programs, see the IBM InfoSphere CDC End-User Documentation for your platform.