Controlled Parameter Bounds, Lengths, and Sizes

The bounds, length, or size of a controlled parameter can be specified in a DECLARE statement either by asterisks or by element expressions.

Asterisk notation
When asterisks are used, length, bounds, or size of the controlled parameter are taken from the current generation of the associated argument. Any subsequent allocation of the controlled parameter uses these same bounds, length, or size, unless they are overridden by a different length, bounds, or size specification in the ALLOCATE statement.
Expression notation
Each time the parameter is allocated, the expressions are evaluated to give current bounds, lengths, or sizes for the new allocation. However, such expressions in a DECLARE statement can be overridden by a bounds, length, or size specification in the ALLOCATE statement itself.
Example of array argument with parameters
In this example, an array is declared with parameters.

Parent topic: Parameter attribute