The A data edit descriptor transfers character or Hollerith values. It takes the following form:
If the corresponding I/O list item is of type character, character data is transferred. If the list item is of any other type, Hollerith data is transferred.
The G edit descriptor can be used to edit character data; it follows the same rules as Aw.
On input, the A data edit descriptor transfers w characters from an external field and assigns them to the corresponding I/O list item.
The maximum number of characters that can be stored depends on the size of the I/O list item, as follows:
Table 11-3 Size Limits for Noncharacter Data Using A Editing
| I/O List Element | Maximum Number of Characters |
|---|---|
| BYTE | 1 |
| LOGICAL(1) or LOGICAL*1 | 1 |
| LOGICAL(2) or LOGICAL*2 | 2 |
| LOGICAL(4) or LOGICAL*4 | 4 |
| LOGICAL(8) or LOGICAL*8 | 8 |
| INTEGER(1) or INTEGER*1 | 1 |
| INTEGER(2) or INTEGER*2 | 2 |
| INTEGER(4) or INTEGER*4 | 4 |
| INTEGER(8) or INTEGER*8 | 8 |
| REAL(4) or REAL*4 | 4 |
| DOUBLE PRECISION | 8 |
| REAL(8) or REAL*8 | 8 |
| REAL(16) or REAL*16 | 16 1 |
| COMPLEX(4) or COMPLEX*8 | 8 2 |
| DOUBLE COMPLEX | 16 2 |
| COMPLEX(8) or COMPLEX*16 | 16 2 |
| COMPLEX(16) or COMPLEX*32 | 32 1,2 |
|
1 VMS, U*X
2 Complex values are treated as pairs of real numbers, so complex editing requires a pair of real edit descriptors. (See Section 11.2.4.6.) | |
If w is equal to or greater than the length (len) of the input item, the rightmost characters are assigned to that item. The leftmost excess characters are ignored.
If w is less than len, or less than the number of characters that can be stored, w characters are assigned to the list item, left-justified, and followed by trailing blanks.
The following shows input using the A edit descriptor (the symbol ^ represents a nonprinting blank character):
Format Input Value Data Type
A6 PAGE^# # CHARACTER(LEN=1)
A6 PAGE^# E^# CHARACTER(LEN=3)
A6 PAGE^# PAGE^# CHARACTER(LEN=6)
A6 PAGE^# PAGE^#^^ CHARACTER(LEN=8)
A6 PAGE^# # LOGICAL(1)
A6 PAGE^# ^# INTEGER(2)
A6 PAGE^# GE^# REAL(4)
A6 PAGE^# PAGE^#^^ REAL(8)
On output, the A data edit descriptor transfers the contents of the corresponding I/O list item to an external field that is w characters long.
If w is greater than the size of the list item, the data is transferred to the output field, right-justified, with leading blanks. If w is less than or equal to the size of the list item, the leftmost w characters are transferred.
The following shows output using the A edit descriptor (the symbol ^ represents a nonprinting blank character):
Format Value Output
A5 OHMS ^OHMS
A5 VOLTS VOLTS
A5 AMPERES AMPER