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String Length Options

• Fixed (static) length (fixed size determined at allocation)
  • FORTRAN 77, Ada, COBOL
  • A FORTRAN 90 example:

        CHARACTER (LEN = 15) NAME;    
    

• Limited dynamic length (fixed maximum size at allocation, but actual contents may be less)
  • C and C++ char arrays: actual length is indicated by a null character

• Dynamic length (may grow and shrink after allocation)
  • SNOBOL4, Perl