The formats and rules for DBCS literals are listed below.
| Format for DBCS literals |
|---|
G"DBCS-characters" G'DBCS-characters' N"DBCS-characters" N'DBCS-characters' |
N" and N' identify a DBCS literal when the NSYMBOL(DBCS) compiler option is in effect. They identify a national literal when the NSYMBOL(NATIONAL) compiler option is in effect, and the rules specified in National literals apply.
When the SOSI compiler option is in effect, workstation shift-out (SO) and shift-in (SI) control characters delimit DBCS characters in source text. The following is the syntax for DBCS literals with shift-out and shift-in delimiters:
| Format for DBCS literals |
|---|
G"<DBCS-characters>" G'<DBCS-characters>' N"<DBCS-characters>" N'<DBCS-characters>' |
Rules for DBCS characters, literal delimiters, maximum length, and continuation are the same as for DBCS literals without the SOSI compiler option. See SOSI in the COBOL for AIX Programming Guide for details of the SOSI compiler option.
DBCS literals can be used in the following places: