Buffer output size determination for DasDs_toStr()

[carrieag]

Currently, there is no way to know how many bytes are needed to retrieve the string representation of a dataset returned
by DasDs_toStr(). The write-up for this function just says to provide a good sized buffer. Would it be possible to modify
this routine in order to return the number of characters needed to print the description so that the appropriate amount of
space could be allocated? Or perhaps another routine created to do precisely this function?

[cpiker]

That's a good point.

Currently it's impossible to know how big to make the buffer. For datasets with just a few variables a few K buffer will always work, but large sets of co-variant housekeeping variables with a lot of meta-data properties, it could be a many 10's of KB, so providing feed-back for dynamic memory is essential.