Commands Reference, Volume 3

iconv Command

Purpose

Converts the encoding of characters from one code page encoding scheme to another.

Syntax

iconv -f FromCode -t ToCode [ FileName... ]

The iconv command converts the encoding of characters read from either standard input or the specified file from one coded character set to another and then writes the results to standard output. The input and output coded character sets are identified by the FromCode and ToCode parameters. The input data should consist of characters in the code set specified by the FromCode parameter. If the FileName parameter is not specified on the command line, the iconv command reads from standard input.

You can use a Web-based System Manager System application (wsm system fast path) to run this command. You could also use the System Management Interface Tool (SMIT) smit iconv fast path to run this command.

Flags

-f FromCode	Specifies the code set in which the input data is encoded. The space between the -f flag and the FromCode parameter is optional.
-t ToCode	Specifies the code set to which the output data is to be converted. The space between the -t flag and the ToCode parameter is optional.
FileName	Specifies a file to be converted.

The list of supported code set converters is provided in "List of Converters" in AIX 5L Version 5.1 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs.

Exit Status

This command returns the following exit values:

0	Input data was successfully converted.
1	The specified conversions are not supported; the given input file cannot be opened for read; or there is a usage-syntax error.
2	An unusable character was encountered in the input stream.

Examples

To convert the contents of the mail.x400 file from code set IBM-850 and store the results in the mail.local file, enter:
```
iconv -f IBM-850 -t ISO8859-1 mail.x400 > mail.local
```
To convert the contents of the mail.japan file from the 7-bit interchange (ISO2022) encoding to the Japanese EUC code set (IBM-eucJP), enter:
```
iconv -f fold7 -t IBM-eucJP mail.junet > mail.local
```
To convert the contents of a local file to the mail-interchange format and send mail, enter:
```
iconv -f IBM-943 -t fold7 mail.local | mail fxrojas
```

Related Information

The genxlt command describes how to define a conversion table.

The iconv subroutine, iconv_close subroutine, and iconv_open subroutines provide a method to use the conversion service from within a program.

Converters Overview for System Management in AIX 5L Version 5.1 System Management Concepts: Operating System and Devices.

For information on installing the Web-based System Manager, see Chapter 2: Installation and System Requirements in AIX 5L Version 5.1 Web-based System Manager Administration Guide.

National Language Support Overview for Programming in AIX 5L Version 5.1 General Programming Concepts: Writing and Debugging Programs.