astStringastString - Create a C string from an array of characters

Description:
This function allocates memory to hold a C string and fills the string with the sequence of characters supplied. It then terminates the string with a null character and returns a pointer to its start. The memory used for the string may later be de-allocated using astFreeastFree.

This function is intended for constructing null terminated C strings from arrays of characters which are not null terminated, such as when importing a character argument from a Fortran 77 program.

Synopsis:
char $*$astString( const char $*$chars, int nchars )
Parameters:
chars
Pointer to the array of characters to be used to fill the string.
nchars
The number of characters in the array (zero or more).
Returned Value:
astString()
If successful, the function returns a pointer to the start of the allocated string. If the number of characters is zero, a zero-length string is still allocated and a pointer to it is returned.
Notes:
  • A pointer value of NULL is returned if this function is invoked with the global error status set or if it fails for any reason.