Strings

String

Declared as:

    Dim <Name> As String

This allocates a RAM for a string (plus one extra byte internally). Fixed strings are not null-terminated and do not resize automatically.

Fixed-length string

Declared as:

    Dim <Name> As String [* <Length>]
    Dim <Name> * <Length>

This allocates a 16-byte string (plus one extra byte internally). Fixed strings are not null-terminated and do not resize automatically.

String Escape Sequences

String literals in GCBASIC source support escape sequences, allowing arbitrary byte values to be embedded directly in strings without workarounds. This capability removes the need to use CHR() which is expensive in terms of RAM. From build 1603.

Supported Sequences

Sequence Value Example

\xNN

Hex byte, exactly 2 digits (0-9, A-F)

\xDC → Chr(220)

\0xNN

Hex byte, exactly 2 digits (0-9, A-F)

\0x1F → Chr(31)

\NNN

Decimal byte, exactly 3 digits (0-9)

\223 → Chr(223)

\r

Carriage return

Chr(13)

\n

Newline

Chr(10)

\t

Tab

Chr(9)

\\

Literal backslash

Chr(92)

\"

Literal double-quote

Chr(34)

Rules

  • Hex digits must be uppercase or lowercase A-F; exactly 2 are required.
  • Decimal values must be exactly 3 digits and in the range 000-255.
  • An unrecognised escape sequence produces a compile-time error with file and line number.

Example

    tmpstring = "\223C\\"

Produces a 3-byte string: Chr(223), C, \ — stored in the string table as: 

    StringTable2:
    .DB  3, 223, 67, 92

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