A[w] (Character Editing)

  If the corresponding I/O list element has a character data type,
  character data is transmitted.  If it has any other data type,
  Hollerith data is transmitted.  The value of "w" must be less than
  or equal to 2**31-1.

  The G edit descriptor can be used to edit character data; it
  follows the same rules as Aw.

  On input, the A edit descriptor transfers "w" characters or
  Hollerith values from the external record and assigns them to the
  corresponding list element.  If the input value contains fewer
  characters than "w", it is padded on the right with blanks.  If the
  input value contains excessive characters, it is truncated on the
  left.

  If the variable is numeric, the ASCII value of each character is
  placed in each byte of the variable, starting at the low-order
  byte.

  On output, the A edit descriptor transfers the contents of the
  corresponding I/O list element to an external field "w" characters
  long.  If the output value contains fewer characters than "w", it
  is padded on the left with blanks.  If the output value contains
  excess characters, it is truncated on the right (for numbers, the
  high-order bytes are lost).

  If the output value is numeric or untyped, the ASCII value of each
  byte of the variable, starting at the low-order byte, is
  transferred to the record.

  The "w" can be omitted and defaults to the number of characters in
  the character variable or the number of bytes in the numeric
  variable.