# String a piece of text. ### @parent javascript/language A *String* is a sequence of characters. For the @boardname@, ASCII character codes 32 to 126 are supported; letters, digits, punctuation marks, and a few symbols. All other character codes appear as a ? on the [LED screen](/device/screen). ### Declare a string Use the [var statement](/reference/variables/var) and the [assignment operator](/reference/variables/assign) `:=` to declare a new *local* string variable. Like this: ``` let str = "this is a string" ``` To declare a string using the [Touch Develop editor](/js/editor): 1. Click `var` (on the Code Keyboard). 2. Type a name for your new string variable. 2. Click on the right side of the `:=` operator. 3. Type `"` (or click `"abc"`) and then type a string like `hello`. 4. Click the check mark. Your code should look something like this: ``` let salutation = "Hello" ``` ### The function `show string` Use [show string](/reference/basic/show-string) to display a string on the [LED screen](/device/screen). If the string is multiple characters, the string scrolls right to left. The following example displays `Hello world!` on the @boardname@ screen: ``` basic.showString("Hello world!", 100) ``` The first parameter of `show string` specifies the string, and the second parameter specifies the number of milliseconds between scrolling by one LED column - the larger the value, the slower the scroll will be. ### More string functions Want to compare or concatenate strings? Check out the [string functions](/types/string-functions). ### Global string variables Unlike [local variables](/reference/variables/var), global variables are accessible across functions and in nested code blocks. To find out how to declare a global string variable, see [global variables](/js/data). ### Lessons [letter up](/lessons/letter-up) ### See also [local variables](/reference/variables/var), [global variables](/js/data), [string functions](/types/string-functions), [Number](/types/number), [show string](/reference/basic/show-string)