Endian issues in RedHat

emp1953 · 02-05-2008, 09:06 AM

I was just jolted into reality when I found that my linux application running on an intel chip became little endian. I am communicating with a Unix (big endian) platform. None of my communication/message constructs are now valid.
Are there any plug and run endian conversion tools (or code if I have to implement it) available that anyone knows of.

Thanks emp1953

syg00 · 02-06-2008, 04:38 AM

Consider yourself lucky you don't have EBCDIC <==> ASCII issues as well ...

If you are doing your own (raw) data transfers, I think you are going to have to handle it yourself. It's a bitch if you have a lot of embedded null values - guess how I know ...

colucix · 02-06-2008, 05:31 AM

Actually there are plenty of "swap bytes" C codes in the internet, that you can use as template. Take in mind that byte swapping works for pure binaries (I mean files containing only numbers). If there are character values, they must not be swapped.

emp1953 · 02-07-2008, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by syg00

Consider yourself lucky you don't have EBCDIC <==> ASCII issues as well ...

If you are doing your own (raw) data transfers, I think you are going to have to handle it yourself. It's a bitch if you have a lot of embedded null values - guess how I know ...

Yes I'm using a good CM product.

sundialsvcs · 02-07-2008, 07:24 PM

Yes, it's "an illegitimate human being."

Byte-swapping functions do exist, however, and you'll have to use them. Note, however, that many libraries do byte-swapping for you or provide a global way to control that... possibly at compile-time when the library is built. Endian-issues are not that uncommon, after all.

EBCDIC? "Bah! These kids today... why, back in my day we had to do our homework in Baudot!"

{I've still got my "card saw," syg00... do you? And I'm definitely a member of the "I dropped an entire box" club.}

choogendyk · 02-07-2008, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sundialsvcs

{I've still got my "card saw," syg00... do you? And I'm definitely a member of the "I dropped an entire box" club.}

Hey, how many other digital media besides cards are still readable after that many years? Floppies, zips, even CDs turn up unusable. Remember how the guy in Cryptonomicon broke the code? He pulled out the box of cards from his dad's belongings after he died.

syg00 · 02-08-2008, 07:26 PM

No, some of my old "junk" gets tossed out every time we move house .... :shrug:.

Where I have had issues was using C to drive a raw TCP transfer of RMF (performance) data - it's composed of variable numbers of self-defining (big endian EBCDIC) fields than are *full* of binary zero values. Gave up in disgust.
There is now a z/OS CIM Server (based on OpenPegasus), so I probably should revisit it one day.