Directive: Declare in-line string constant and get its address.

((PUB ┆ PRI))
   STRING (StringExpression )

Returns: Address of in-line string constant.

• StringExpression is the desired string expression to be used for temporary, in-line purposes.

Explanation

The DAT block is used often to create strings or string buffers that are reusable for various purposes, but there are occasions when a string is needed for temporary purposes like debugging or one-time uses in an object. The STRING directive is meant for those one-time uses; it compiles an in-line, zero-terminated string into memory and returns the address of that string.

Using STRING

The STRING directive is very good for creating one-time-use strings and passing the address of that string to other methods. For example, assuming PrintStr is a method created elsewhere.

PrintStr(string("This is a test string."))

The above example uses the STRING directive to compile a string, "This is a test string.", into memory and return the address of that string as the parameter for the fictitious PrintStr method.

If a string needs to be used in more than one place in code, it is better to define it in the DAT block so the address can be used multiple times.