Percent Character "%" Not Allowed in Identifiers in MASM 6.00

ID Number: Q69988

6.00 | 6.00

MS-DOS | OS/2

Summary:

In the Macro Assembler (MASM) version 6.00, the percent character "%"

is not allowed in any identifier name. The valid characters that can

be used in an identifier are listed on page 13 of the "Macro Assembler

6.00 Programmer's Guide."

More Information:

The following is a possible error that may occur if you attempt to use

an identifier containing a percent character:

file.asm(6): error A2009: syntax error in expression

Because the percent character is also used as the expansion operator

(see page 238 of the "Macro Assembler 6.00 Programmer's Guide"), the

assembler will not accept the percent character in identifiers, even

in MASM 5.10 compatibility mode (selected by using the /Zm switch).

The Macro Assembler version 5.10 does not document the percent

character as being valid in identifiers, but it was accepted by the

assembler.

One workaround for this situation is to remove the percent character

from the identifier.