> -----Original Message-----
> From: Braun Brelin [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> 
> I'm using a perl program on an HP3000. [...]
> The problem I'm having is that one of my tables has a key 
> that looks like the following:
> 
> E-PAT-ACCT-NBR                 CHARACTER                 8
[and I'm presuming "broken down as:" ... ]
>    .ENTITY-ID                  CHARACTER                 2
>    PAT-ACCT-NBR                PACKED UNSIGNED           6
> 
> So, basically, the key consists of a two byte character 
> [...] and a packed unsigned field. [...]
> I tried doing a pack("H8",$key) 

I'm not a perl expert, but in just reading this part alone, I get the impression you're trying to include the initial two-characters [the hard-coded "01"] as part of the data "to be packed", rather than appending a 12-digit packed field to a two-character constant string.  

OR is it the case that the overall "account" number is really an 8-digit value, of which the first two digits are "01"?  This would create a 4-byte key value, not an 8-byte value.

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