2.6 String Literals

From OC Systems Wiki!
Jump to: navigation, search

A string_literal is formed by a sequence of graphic characters (possibly none) enclosed between two quotation marks used as string brackets. They are used to represent operator_symbols (see 6.1), values of a string type (see 4.2), and array subaggregates (see 4.3.3).

Syntax

string_literal ::= "{string_element}"

string_element ::= "" | non_quotation_mark_graphic_character

A string_element is either a pair of quotation marks (""), or a single graphic_character other than a quotation mark.

Static Semantics

The sequence of characters of a string_literal is formed from the sequence of string_elements between the bracketing quotation marks, in the given order, with a string_element that is "" becoming a single quotation mark in the sequence of characters, and any other string_element being reproduced in the sequence.

A null string literal is a string_literal with no string_elements between the quotation marks.

Notes

5  An end of line cannot appear in a string_literal.

Examples

Examples of string literals:

"Message of the day:"
 
""    --  a null string literal
" "   "A"   """"      --  three string literals of length 1
 
"Characters such as $, %, and } are allowed in string literals"

Copyright © 1992,1993,1994,1995 Intermetrics, Inc.
Copyright © 2000 The MITRE Corporation, Inc. Ada Reference Manual