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Rim uses CHARACTER variables and constants for messages and for internal communication but most text, and all character data on file, is represented by 7-bit ASCII codes in integer variables. Thus, for example, when the integer variable CH contains 97 it represents a lower case `a'. A variable containing a single ascii character is call an `ascii-char'.

To reduce memory requirements ascii characters are often packed and stored in arrays. Words of 32 or 36 bits can hold 4 characters; words of 60 or 64 bits can hold 8 characters. An integer array containing packed characters is called `ascii-text'.