VMS Help  —  FORTRAN  Data  Constants  Hollerith
  A Hollerith constant is a string of printable characters preceded
  by a character count and the letter H.  It is used only in numeric
  expressions and has the form:

    nHc[c...]

    n     Is an unsigned, nonzero integer constant stating the
          number of characters in the string (including tabs
          and spaces).

    c     Is a printable ASCII character.

  A Hollerith constant can be a string of 1 to 2000 characters and is
  stored as a byte string, one character per byte.

  Hollerith constants have no data type, but assume a numeric data
  type according to the context in which they are used.  They assume
  data types according to the following rules:

   o  When the constant is used with a binary operator, including the
      assignment operator, the data type of the constant is the data
      type of the other operand.

   o  When a specific data type is required, that type is assumed for
      the constant.

   o  When the constant is used as an actual argument, no data type
      is assumed.

  When the length of the constant is less than the length implied by
  the data type, blanks are appended to the constant on the right.

  When the length of the constant is greater than the length implied
  by the data type, the constant is truncated on the right.  If any
  characters other than blank characters are truncated, an error
  occurs.
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