# Format Binary B **URL:** \ **Category:** Forum\ **Tags:** Adabas-Natural, Adabas, Adabas-Basics-on-Linux-Unix-Windows, Adabas-on-Windows-UNIX, Adabas-on-Linux\ **Created:** [February 8, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246 "2013-02-08T17:46:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Claudio\_Muller](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/user_avatar/techcommunity.softwareag.com/claudio_muller/32/518_2.png) [@Claudio\_Muller](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/Claudio_Muller)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 5:46pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/1 "2013-02-08T17:46:50Z")
Hello, I’m Cobol programmer and had never worked with binary format B Adabas. In practice that can save the fields in this format? ---
**Author:** ![Ralph\_Zbrog](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/user_avatar/techcommunity.softwareag.com/ralph_zbrog/32/78_2.png) [@Ralph\_Zbrog](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/Ralph_Zbrog)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/2 "2013-02-09T18:43:40Z")
Binary format isn’t typically used in business applications. The only binary field I’ve ever stored in an Adabas file is the computer’s clock value, known in Natural as \*TIMESTMP (B8). ---
**Author:** ![Claudio\_Muller](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/user_avatar/techcommunity.softwareag.com/claudio_muller/32/518_2.png) [@Claudio\_Muller](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/Claudio_Muller)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2013, 12:04am UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/3 "2013-02-10T00:04:56Z")
would be the same as the timestamp that the databases (mysql, sqlserver)? ---
**Author:** ![Matthias1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@Matthias1](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/Matthias1)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2013, 8:27am UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/4 "2013-02-12T08:27:20Z")
> [@Claudio Muller](#): > > In practice that can save the fields in this format? For example Logical fields in Natural (type L) are commonly stored as B-Format-Fields with 1 byte length in Adabas. The major difference of A-Format fields to B-Format fields is: Reset of a B-Format field results in 0x00. Reset of a A-Format field results in 0x20. (Also think of the Null-value-suppression flag of Adabas) \*TIMESTMP is a very special thing. It’s something like the CPU-Interal clock and has quite nothing to do with user readable timestamps (like T-Format-Fields in Natural). ---
**Author:** ![Claudio\_Muller](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/user_avatar/techcommunity.softwareag.com/claudio_muller/32/518_2.png) [@Claudio\_Muller](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/Claudio_Muller)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 1:53pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/5 "2013-02-28T13:53:04Z")
HF is widely used option? her explanation is long, which makes the HF in practice? ---
**Author:** ![Matthias1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc348/32.png) [@Matthias1](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/Matthias1)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/6 "2013-02-28T14:26:07Z")
HF seems to be a very special thing which has to do with endianess. To be honest: I’ve rarely used B-Fields as unsigned integers. And even if I do, I won’t store them into an adabas-field with a descriptor. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/original/3X/c/d/cd19967bb605d28a72d77eb83a1cae22f3df2eb8.svg) [@system](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/7 "2013-03-05T18:11:23Z")
The HF option is required, if you use Natural to access the files. ---
**Author:** ![Claudio\_Muller](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/user_avatar/techcommunity.softwareag.com/claudio_muller/32/518_2.png) [@Claudio\_Muller](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/Claudio_Muller)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/8 "2013-03-05T18:17:49Z")
which files? or file types? ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/original/3X/c/d/cd19967bb605d28a72d77eb83a1cae22f3df2eb8.svg) [@system](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/9 "2013-03-19T13:05:15Z")
The Adabas files with the fields with format B. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/techcommunity/original/3X/c/d/cd19967bb605d28a72d77eb83a1cae22f3df2eb8.svg) [@system](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2021, 3:02pm UTC](https://techcommunity.softwareag.com/t/format-binary-b/102246/10 "2021-04-02T15:02:50Z")