code: public static String encodeLong(long val) {
          String str = null;
          try {
              str = Long.toString(val, radix);
              return str;
          } catch (Throwable th) {
              com.ibm.ws.ffdc.FFDCFilter.processException(th, "com.ibm.ws.session.utils.EncodeCloneID.encodeLong", "39", "" + val);
          }
          return Long.toString(val);
      }
docs: If unsuccessful returns the original as string