2.2.1.6 Character Constants

A character constant is a string of printable ASCII characters enclosed in apostrophes. It takes the following form:

'c1c2c3 . . . cn'
cn
Is a printable ASCII character. On Alpha processors, this can also be a control character.

Rules and Behavior

Both apostrophes are required.

The value of a character constant is the string of characters between the apostrophes. The value does not include the apostrophes, but does include all spaces or tabs within the apostrophes.

Within a character constant, the apostrophe character is represented by two consecutive apostrophes with no space or other character between them ('').

The length of the character constant is the number of characters between the apostrophes, except that two consecutive apostrophes represent a single apostrophe. The length of a character constant must be in the range of 1 to 2000. Each character occupies one byte of memory.

If a character constant appears in a numeric context (such as an expression on the right side of an arithmetic assignment statement), it is considered a Hollerith constant.

Examples

The following examples show valid and invalid character constants:

Valid   
'WHAT?'    
'TODAY''S DATE IS:'    
'The average reply was "12:00"'    
Invalid  Explanation 
'HEADINGS   No trailing apostrophe 
''   Character constant must contain at least one character 

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