Char strings are fixed-length strings. Char strings can contain any printing or non-printing character, except the null character ('\0').

In uncompressed tables, char strings are padded with blanks to the declared length. For example, if ABC is entered into a char(5) column, five bytes are represented, as follows:

Leading and embedded blanks are significant when comparing char strings. For example, the following char strings are considered different:

When selecting char strings using the underscore (_) wildcard character of the LIKE predicate, include any trailing blanks to be matched. For example, to select the following char string:

the wildcard specification must also contain trailing blanks:

Length is not significant when comparing char strings; the shorter string is (logically) padded to the length of the longer. For example, the following char strings are considered equal: