string
A sequence of {data} values, usually {bytes}, which usually stand for {characters} (a "character string").
The {mapping} between values and characters is determined by
the {character set} which is itself specified implcitly or
explicitly by the environment in which the string is being
interpreted.
The most common character set is {ASCII} but, since the late
1990s, there has been increased interest in larger character
sets such as {Unicode} where each character is represented by
more than eight {bits}.
Most programming languages consider strings (e.g.
"124:shabooya:\n", "hello world") basically distinct from
numbers which are typically stored in fixed-length {binary} or
{floating-point} representation.
A {bit string} is a sequence of {bit}s.
(1999-12-21)