The string code determines the interpretation of the characters between the quotation marks (") of a string literal. The string code specifies the character set and, for strings of less than 48 bits, the justification. The first digit of the string code specifies the character set in which the source string is written. The next nonzero digit (if any) specifies the internal character size of the string to be created by the compiler. If no nonzero digit is specified, the internal size is the same as the source size. If the internal size is different from the source size, the length of the string must be an integral number of internal characters. For example, the string literal 48"C1C2C3C4" is an EBCDIC string expressed in terms of hexadecimal characters.

If the string literal contains fewer than 48 bits, a trailing zero in the string code specifies that the string literal is to be left-justified within the word and that trailing zeros are to fill out the remainder of the word.

If the string literal contains fewer than 48 bits, the absence of a trailing zero in the string code specifies that the string literal is to be right-justified within the word and that leading zeros are to fill out the remainder of the word.

If the string literal contains 48 or more bits, the presence or absence of a trailing zero in the string code has no effect.

If the string code is not specified, the source string and the internal representation of the string are of the default character type. For more information, refer to Default Character Type.