How do I converted a null (0) terminated string to a Python string?

[Michael]

John,

Thanks for your reply. Just wondering... how are Python strings
formatted? Evidently they're not 0 terminated.

Thanks again,
MDM

John Machin wrote:
> Michael top-posted [corrected]:
> > John Machin wrote:
> > > Michael wrote:
> > > > Hi All,
> > > >
> > > > I've received (via UDP) a null terminated string and need to convert it
> > > > into a Python string. Can anyone tell me how this is done? If it helps,
> > > > I know the number of characters in the string.
> > > >
> > >
> > > I think you mean NUL, not null.
> > >
> > > What have you received it into, if it's not a Python string?
> > >
> > > You probably need/want this:
> > >
> > > if strg[-1] == "\0":
> > >     strg = strg[:-1]
> > > alternatively:
> > > strg = strg.rstrip("\0") # requires Python 2.2.2 or later
> > >
> > > It's possible you may be talking about a fixed length string which
> > > contains useful_stuff + "\0" + padding -- in that case you need
> > >
> > > strg = strg.split("\0")[0] # grab upto (but not including) the first
> > > NUL (if any)
> > >
> > > If you're not sure what you've got, print repr(the_input_string)
> > >
> > > HTH,
> > > John
> > Thank you very much for your responses. To answer some of the
> > questions... Yes, I am in Python receiving a C language 0 terminated
> > string that was sent to my Python program in a UDP packet (which is how
> > I know the count). Are your responses still correct given this
> > clarification?
>
> My responses are correct. Your "clarification" indicates to me that you
> are going by what you are told, not by inspection of (several instances
> of) the packet contents, using repr(). It's up to you whether you want
> to be skeptical about the packet contents or not. I certainly wouldn't
> be throwing the last byte away without checking that it was in fact a
> NUL. 
> 
> Cheers,
> John