&ASISTR

&ASISTR returns the following string, yet retains leading blanks.

&ASISTR is a built-in function and must be used to the right of an assignment statement.

&ASISTR returns the complete text, as is.

&ASISTR assumes any leading blanks are intended-assignment commences from the second character position after the &ASISTR keyword.

This built-in function has the following format:

&ASISTR text

Operand:

text: Specifies one or more words or variables for assignment to the target variable.

Examples: &ASISTR

&SYSMSG = &ASISTR  INVALID DATA ENTERED

&PRTLINE = &ASISTR NETWORK SUMMARY REPORT

Notes:

&ASISTR is ideal when constructing error messages where the text is to be offset for display formats.
&STR and &ASISTR are useful ways of assigning multiple words into a single string-do not use &CONCAT because it eliminates blanks between the fields being assigned.
The total size of the constructed variable or constant cannot exceed the maximum size for a variable, that is, 256 characters (if it exceeds the maximum, it is truncated to 256 characters).
&ASISTR differs from the &STR function in that it assigns data as is, and retains leading blanks (&STR scans for data starting after the &STR keyword and starts its assignment from the first data character).
If &CONTROL DBCS, DBCSN, or DBCSP is in effect, &ASISTR is sensitive to the presence of DBCS data.

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