Character Constants in the DATA Statement

If the length of a character item in nlist is greater than the length of the corresponding constant in clist, it is padded with blank characters on the right.

If the length of a character item in nlist is less than that of the corresponding constant in clist, the additional rightmost characters are ignored.

If the constant in clist is of integer type and the item of nlist is of character type, they must conform to the following rules:

• The character item must have a length of one character.

• The constant must be of type integer and have a value in the range 0 through 255. For ^A, ^B, ^C, do not hold down the Control key and press A, B, or C; use the CHAR intrinsic function.

If the constant of clist is a character constant or a Hollerith constant, and the item of nlist is of type INTEGER, then the number of characters that can be assigned is 2 or 4 for INTEGER*2 and INTEGER*4 respectively. If the character constant or the Hollerith constant has fewer characters than the capacity of the item, the constant is extended on the right with spaces. If the character or the Hollerith constant contains more characters than can be stored, the constant is truncated on the right.