Skip to content

Instantly share code, notes, and snippets.

@jnturton
Created March 31, 2026 06:19
Show Gist options
  • Select an option

  • Save jnturton/7a70e5a4425af2c048920cbd37b658fb to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.

Select an option

Save jnturton/7a70e5a4425af2c048920cbd37b658fb to your computer and use it in GitHub Desktop.
Extract a timestamp from a 20 hex digit Db2 LRSN
#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""
Db2 z/OS LRSN Decoder
=====================
LRSN structure (10 bytes / 20 hex digits):
Byte 1 : Log stream identifier / prefix (0x00 for a single log stream)
Bytes 2-9 : Timestamp — 8 bytes of a 64-bit IBM TOD (STCK) clock value, big endian
Byte 10 : Uniqueness / sequence counter
IBM TOD clock encoding:
The 64-bit STCK value has a unit of 2^-12 microseconds (1/4096 µs).
To decode:
full_tod = 8 byte value as big endian # convert hex to bytes, bytes to int using big endian
microsecs = full_tod / 4096 # convert ticks of 2^-12 to microseconds
datetime = epoch + timedelta(microseconds=microsecs)
where epoch = 1900-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Copyright 2026 James Turton
Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
You may obtain a copy of the License at
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
limitations under the License.
"""
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
EPOCH = datetime(1900, 1, 1, tzinfo=timezone.utc)
def decode_lrsn(lrsn_hex: str) -> dict:
"""
Decode a Db2 z/OS LRSN (20 hex digit string).
Returns a dict with:
- lrsn : original LRSN string (uppercased)
- prefix_byte : hex string of byte 1 (log stream identifier)
- timestamp_hex : hex string of bytes 2-9 (8-byte TOD fragment)
- sequence_hex : hex string of byte 10 (uniqueness counter)
- full_tod : reconstructed 64-bit TOD value
- microseconds : microseconds since 1900-01-01 (full_tod / 4096)
- datetime_utc : decoded datetime (UTC)
"""
lrsn_hex = lrsn_hex.strip().upper().replace(" ", "")
if len(lrsn_hex) != 20:
raise ValueError(f"LRSN must be exactly 20 hex digits, got {len(lrsn_hex)}")
if not all(c in "0123456789ABCDEF" for c in lrsn_hex):
raise ValueError("LRSN must contain only hex digits (0-9, A-F)")
prefix_hex = lrsn_hex[0:2] # byte 1
timestamp_hex = lrsn_hex[2:18] # bytes 2-9 (8 bytes = 16 hex digits)
sequence_hex = lrsn_hex[18:20] # byte 10
full_tod = int.from_bytes(bytes.fromhex(timestamp_hex), byteorder="big")
# IBM TOD unit = 2^-12 µs, so divide by 4096 to get microseconds
microseconds = full_tod / 4096
dt_utc = EPOCH + timedelta(microseconds=microseconds)
return {
"lrsn": lrsn_hex,
"prefix_byte": prefix_hex,
"timestamp_hex": timestamp_hex,
"sequence_hex": sequence_hex,
"full_tod": full_tod,
"microseconds": microseconds,
"datetime_utc": dt_utc,
}
def pretty_print(result: dict) -> None:
print("=" * 62)
print(" Db2 z/OS LRSN Decoder")
print("=" * 62)
print(f" Full LRSN : {result['lrsn']}")
print(f" Prefix byte : {result['prefix_byte']}")
print(f" Timestamp (bytes 2-9): {result['timestamp_hex']}")
print(f" Sequence (byte 10) : {result['sequence_hex']}")
print("-" * 62)
print(f" Full TOD : {result['full_tod']}")
print(f" Microseconds : {result['microseconds']:,.3f}")
print("-" * 62)
dt = result["datetime_utc"]
print(f" Decoded timestamp : {dt.strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S.%f')} UTC")
print(f" Formatted : {dt.strftime('%A, %d %B %Y %H:%M:%S UTC')}")
print("=" * 62)
if __name__ == "__main__":
import sys
if len(sys.argv) != 2:
print(
f"Usage: {sys.argv[0]} 20_hex_digit_LRSN. Unit test: pytest decode_lrsn.py"
)
sys.exit(2)
lrsn_input = sys.argv[1]
try:
result = decode_lrsn(lrsn_input)
pretty_print(result)
sys.exit(0) # avoid continuing to the unit test code below
except ValueError as e:
print(f"Error: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
sys.exit(1)
# Unit tests nastily inline to maintain single-file distribution
import pytest
TEST_DATA = [
("00E24DAF66A0703A3800", "2026-02-27 09:15:29.563395"),
("00E24DAF66A070809400", "2026-02-27 09:15:29.563400"),
("00E24DB65ACB5167B800", "2026-02-27 09:46:36.204310"),
("00E24DE230235168D000", "2026-02-27 13:02:42.636054"),
("00E251990A023F8F6600", "2026-03-02 11:56:44.773368"),
("00E251997CD44256AA00", "2026-03-02 11:58:45.171237"),
("00E26F8A83368F9DB800", "2026-03-26 07:31:29.635577"),
("00E26F8A83511BF25000", "2026-03-26 07:31:29.744319"),
]
@pytest.mark.parametrize("lrsn, db2_timestamp", TEST_DATA)
def test_decode_lrsn(lrsn, db2_timestamp):
"""Compare a timestamp from decode_lrsn with a timestamp from Db2 utilities"""
td = abs(decode_lrsn(lrsn)["datetime_utc"] - datetime.fromisoformat(db2_timestamp).replace(tzinfo=timezone.utc))
assert td <= timedelta(microseconds=1)
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment