Normally, when you declare a string variable, ESL allows the string to vary in length limited only by available memory. Within a structure variable, a string field without a using string clause is actually stored by ESL as an HSTRING, an ESL data type that describes a variable-length ESL string. However, some purposes may require that the characters within the string actually be embedded within the field. To force ESL to store a string within a field,  indicate the length of the string. In this case, the field occupies N bytes within the structure, and contains ASCII characters terminated by a NULL.

To manipulate ESL strings within external subroutines and functions, use the string manipulation routines described in ESL String Data Type.