string_type

Objects of string_type consist of a sequence of arbitrary characters, of arbitrary length, up to a certain maximum. This maximum length is denoted by the symbolic constant STRING_MAXLEN (which is of type integer_type).

String constants are enclosed by double quote characters, and may not be broken across multiple lines:

  "This is a valid string constant."

  "This is NOT a
   valid
   string constant!"

Within a string constant, certain special characters are denoted by so-called escape sequences as follows:

• n : This is the newline character. When printed on the screen it moves the cursor down one line and back to the left margin. When stored in a file it marks the break between one line of text and the next.

• " : This allows you to embed a double quote character in a string (a double quote on its own won't work because it would be mistaken for the end of the string).

• : Since a backslash character plays a special role in introducing the escape sequences already mentioned, there is a problem if you actually want to have a backslash character itself in your string. The solution is that a double backslash is treated as denoting literally that you want a (single) backslash in the string.