Variable Length

Each variable must also be assigned an exact storage length.

For string variables, this is the maximum number of characters that may be stored in the particular memory location; string length is an integer value between 1 and 254.
For numeric variables, the length definition includes the maximum number of digits that may be stored (length) and the maximum number of decimal digits (precision); system limits are 16 digits maximum for length and 15 digits for precision.

See the LENGTH statement for additional information.

Also see: