[Info-vax] VMS Basic strings class D vs class S

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

On Sun, 25 Feb 2024 16:33:33 -0500, Arne Vajhøj wrote:

> If I have understood it correctly then VMS Basic strings use class D
> descriptors.

The “VAX BASIC User Manual” mentions both dynamic and fixed-length 
strings. Chapter 13 explains that strings are fixed-length when part of 
COMMON, MAP or RECORD statements, otherwise they are dynamic. Fixed-length 
strings obviously cannot have their storage reallocated.

In chapter 21, it mentions that, if you pass strings by descriptor from a 
language that doesn’t understand dynamic strings (e.g. Fortran), then they 
are passed as fixed-length strings.