Siebel Connector for SAP R/3 > SAP Code Page Mappings >

Mapping SAP Characters that Differ Between Codepages

In the following mappings, codepoints with the same binary values in both Microsoft and ISO codepages have different character representations.

SAP code page 1700 - ISO 8859-7 maps to Microsoft 1253 (Greek).

SAP code page 1800 - ISO 8859-8 maps to Microsoft 1255 (Hebrew).

In these codepages, a single binary codepoint value can represent different characters in each code page. A specific list of these codepoints is provided later in this section in Table 49 and Table 50. These codepages have been listed in Table 11 as "not a complete match." In this event data may be corrupted if it is modified in both the SAP and Siebel applications.

When a codepoint of this type exists in the SAP database and is transferred to the Siebel application, the binary value of the codepoint is converted to Unicode based on the Microsoft code page mapping. For example, the codepoint B6 in the ISO 8859-7 code page is a Greek capital letter alpha with tonos. The codepoint B6 in the Microsoft 1253 code page is a pilcrow sign. If the B6 value exists in the SAP database, SAP displays it as the Greek alpha character. When this value is passed to the Siebel application, the application interprets it with Microsoft code page 1253 and assumes that it is a pilcrow sign. The Siebel application then converts the value to a Unicode codepoint for the pilcrow sign and displays the character as a pilcrow sign.

If the value remains unchanged in the Siebel application and is then sent back to SAP, SAP converts the character from Unicode to the binary B6 value. SAP interprets the B6 using the ISO code page and correctly displays the Greek alpha character once again.

A similar scenario holds true if the original value is entered into the Siebel application. If the character is originally entered in the Siebel application as a pilcrow, this value is converted, transported to SAP, and appears on an SAP display as an alpha character. If the value is unchanged and is sent back to the Siebel application at a later time, the character still appears as a pilcrow character.

If either the SAP or the Siebel application is defined as the system of origin for the data, then no data corruption occurs; however, the data displays differently in each system (correct in the system of origin and incorrect in the other system). Data corruption is possible if data is changed in both the SAP and the Siebel applications because displayed values are different in each system for these characters.

Table 49 and Table 50 list codepoints that differ for SAP codepages 1700 and 1800.