MOF String Data Types

[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]

The MOF language supports the following string data types:

Single character constants are surrounded by single quotes or else the integer representation of the UNICODE character value can be used directly:

char16  TestChar1 = '\x41';
char16  Testchar2 = 'A';
char16  TestChar3 = 65;    
char16  TestChar4 = 0x1000;

Note that characters can be specified literally or with the \x escape sequence as in ANSI-C. Since the characters are Unicode, 16-bit values can also be specified.

Character strings are surrounded by double quotes. Note that ANSI-C single character constants are surrounded by double quotes.

Successive quoted strings are concatenated with one or more white spaces placed between them as delimiters. The following example illustrates how to represent a long character string using two character strings:

"This" "becomes a long string"
 

Embedded quotes require the use of an escape sequence beginning with the backslash:

"This is \"embedded quote example\" "

Because character and short integer values are identical, character constants can be assigned integer values if the values are within the 16-bit range of an unsigned Unicode character. The following class and instance declarations show how to initialize several string properties and a string parameter.

class  StringDataClass
{
    [KEY]  String    Dstring;
    DateTime         DTime;
    sint16           CharVal1;
    sint16           CharVal2
    sint32 DiskMethod ([in] string Description = "Disk Number 1");
};

instance of StringDataClass
{
    Dstring = "this can go on for " " some time"
       " before we are done";
    DTime    = "19940107140332.000000-300";
    CharVal1 = '\n';
    CharVal2 = '\x32';
};