# FILL\$()

> [HTML Version](fill$().htm)

**FILL\$(expr,length)**

The FILL\$() function returns a string expression made by repeating the source expression until it reaches the specified overall length (in bytes). 

For example:

PRINT FILL\$("ab-",10)     \! displays "ab-ab-ab-a"

Note that the source expression may contain nulls, which generally only makes sense if assigning the output of the function to an unformatted variable. For example, the statement REC = FILL\$(chr(0),sizeof(REC)) would fill the REC variable or structure with nulls.

FILL\$ requires COMPIL switch /X:1 or higher.

**History**

2024 May, A-Shell 7.0.1757:  Optimize the FILL\$() function, achieve a 10x improvement when used with single-character patterns (not that anyone will notice\!)