> "The result of C2A is the same as is obtained from > &value SETA C'charstring' > except that C2A give a zero result for null strings, and > does not pair apostrophes or ampersands before conversion."
It's hard to tell what the original writer (in the 1990s) had in mind, but I would agree that this is confusing and unhelpful. The C2A function simply processes its operand string SETC value exactly as provided. Pairing relates to how information is entered, and there is a complication that a conditional assembly character constant in the form '&&' is two ampersands, but a self-defining term or DC constant of the form C'&&' is one ampersand. The existing text correctly describes the difference between how a character string would be coded in source form within a C'xx' constant as in the SETA example and how it is processed by C2A. However, I do not think this comparison is particularly helpful. Also, SETA gives a zero result for a null string SETC value (although that cannot be coded as C'') so there is no real need for the "except" case. I have added this to our list of known documentation issues to be investigated, thanks. Jonathan Scott, HLASM IBM Hursley, UK
