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SUPPORT / SAMPLES & SAS NOTES
 

Support

Usage Note 63170: "Unable to transcode data to/from UCS-2 encoding" occurs after invalid characters are read in an Amazon Redshift, Impala, Netezza, or PostgreSQL table

DetailsHotfixAboutRate It

When a character string in an Amazon Redshift, Impala, Netezza, or PostgreSQL table contains a character that cannot be represented in the SAS® session encoding, you receive the following error:

ERROR "Unable to transcode data to/from UCS-2 encoding"

The default SAS session encoding is UTF-8. Warnings are generated in the SAS log under these circumstances:

  • Your data must be transcoded from another encoding to the SAS session encoding.
  • Your data contains characters that cannot be transcoded to the destination encoding.

For details about rows and columns that are affected by transcoding errors, enable the SASTRACE= option:

options sastrace=',,d' sastraceloc=saslog nostsuffix;

Workaround

Change the encoding for your environment to UTF-8. If an encoding migration is not feasible, see the following section.

 

New SUB_CHAR= option

SAS® 9.4M6 offers support for a new SUB_CHAR= LIBNAME statement option for SAS/ACCESS® Interface to Amazon Redshift, SAS/ACCESS® Interface to Netezza, and SAS/ACCESS® Interface to PostgreSQL. This option specifies a substitution character to use in place of any invalid characters that cannot be represented in the SAS session encoding. This option will be available for SAS/ACCESS® to Impala with SAS® 9.4M7

This new option is also available in a forthcoming hot fix for other maintenance releases of SAS® 9.4.

Details about the syntax follow here:

SUB_CHAR=value

 

Syntax Description

value

specifies the substitution character to use in place of a character that cannot be represented in the SAS session encoding.

 

Here are the possible values for SUB_CHAR=:

SPACE

specifies that a space replaces an invalid character during transcoding.

SUB       

specifies that the default substitution character for the source encoding replaces an invalid character during transcoding. The default substitution character varies depending on your source encoding and on your system platform. For example, the substitution character might be represented by a “0x1A” character in a Windows environment and by a “?” in a Linux environment.

UESC    

specifies that the “\uddd” value replaces an invalid character during transcoding. This UESC value is typically used only during debugging and is not intended for large-scale jobs. (Note: In SAS® 9.4M4F, the UESC option is not available because it is not in the underlying routines for national language support.)

 

Click the Hot Fix tab in this note to access the hot fix for this issue.



Operating System and Release Information

Product FamilyProductSystemSAS Release
ReportedFixed*
SAS SystemSAS/ACCESS Interface to Amazon RedshiftHP-UX IPF9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
64-bit Enabled Solaris9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
64-bit Enabled AIX9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Ultimate x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Professional x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Professional 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Home Premium x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Enterprise 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 109.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft® Windows® for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Linux for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Solaris for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
SAS SystemSAS/ACCESS Interface to NetezzaMicrosoft® Windows® for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 109.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Enterprise 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Home Premium x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Professional 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Professional x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Ultimate x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
64-bit Enabled AIX9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
64-bit Enabled Solaris9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
HP-UX IPF9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Linux for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
SAS SystemSAS/ACCESS Interface to PostgreSQLMicrosoft® Windows® for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows 109.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Enterprise 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Home Premium x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Professional 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Professional x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Windows 7 Ultimate x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
64-bit Enabled AIX9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
64-bit Enabled Solaris9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
HP-UX IPF9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Linux for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
Solaris for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M6
SAS SystemSAS/ACCESS Interface to ImpalaMicrosoft® Windows® for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro 32-bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows 109.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Std9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Enterprise 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Enterprise x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Home Premium x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Professional 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Professional x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Ultimate 32 bit9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Windows 7 Ultimate x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
64-bit Enabled AIX9.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
Linux for x649.4 TS1M49.4 TS1M7
* For software releases that are not yet generally available, the Fixed Release is the software release in which the problem is planned to be fixed.