Index: c-lang.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/c-lang.c,v
retrieving revision 1.72
diff -u -r1.72 c-lang.c
--- c-lang.c	23 Jun 2009 16:26:04 -0000	1.72
+++ c-lang.c	30 Jun 2009 13:05:43 -0000
@@ -591,18 +591,17 @@
 }
 
 /* Obtain a C string from the inferior storing it in a newly allocated
-   buffer in BUFFER, which should be freed by the caller.  The string is
-   read until a null character is found. If VALUE is an array with known
-   length, the function will not read past the end of the array.  LENGTH
-   will contain the size of the string in bytes (not counting the null
-   character).
-
-   Assumes strings are terminated by a null character.  The size of a character
-   is determined by the length of the target type of the pointer or array.
-   This means that a null byte present in a multi-byte character will not
-   terminate the string unless the whole character is null.
-
-   CHARSET is always set to the target charset.  */
+   buffer in BUFFER, which should be freed by the caller.  If LENGTH
+   is specified at -1, the string is read until a null character of
+   the appropriate width is found, otherwise the string is read to the
+   length of characters specified.  The size of a character is
+   determined by the length of the target type of the pointer or
+   array.  If VALUE is an array with a known length, the function will
+   not read past the end of the array.
+   On completion, LENGTH will be set to the size of the string read in
+   characters.  (If a length of -1 is specified, the length returned
+   will not include the null character).  CHARSET is always set to the
+   target charset.  */
 
 void
 c_get_string (struct value *value, gdb_byte **buffer, int *length,
@@ -612,6 +611,7 @@
   unsigned int fetchlimit;
   struct type *type = check_typedef (value_type (value));
   struct type *element_type = TYPE_TARGET_TYPE (type);
+  int req_length = *length;
 
   if (element_type == NULL)
     goto error;
@@ -647,7 +647,7 @@
 
   width = TYPE_LENGTH (element_type);
 
-  /* If the string lives in GDB's memory intead of the inferior's, then we
+  /* If the string lives in GDB's memory instead of the inferior's, then we
      just need to copy it to BUFFER.  Also, since such strings are arrays
      with known size, FETCHLIMIT will hold the size of the array.  */
   if ((VALUE_LVAL (value) == not_lval
@@ -657,12 +657,17 @@
       int i;
       const gdb_byte *contents = value_contents (value);
 
-      /* Look for a null character.  */
-      for (i = 0; i < fetchlimit; i++)
-	if (extract_unsigned_integer (contents + i * width, width) == 0)
-	  break;
+      /* If a length is specified, use that.  */
+      if (*length >= 0)
+	i = *length;
+      else
+	/* Otherwise, look for a null character.  */
+	for (i = 0; i < fetchlimit; i++)
+	  if (extract_unsigned_integer (contents + i * width, width) == 0)
+	    break;
 
-      /* I is now either the number of non-null characters, or FETCHLIMIT.  */
+      /* I is now either a user-defined length, the number of non-null
+	 characters, or FETCHLIMIT.  */
       *length = i * width;
       *buffer = xmalloc (*length);
       memcpy (*buffer, contents, *length);
@@ -670,7 +675,7 @@
     }
   else
     {
-      err = read_string (value_as_address (value), -1, width, fetchlimit,
+      err = read_string (value_as_address (value), *length, width, fetchlimit,
 			 buffer, length);
       if (err)
 	{
@@ -680,10 +685,21 @@
 	}
     }
 
-  /* If the last character is null, subtract it from LENGTH.  */
-  if (*length > 0
-      && extract_unsigned_integer (*buffer + *length - width, width) == 0)
-    *length -= width;
+  /* If the LENGTH is specified at -1, we want to return the string
+     length up to the terminating null character.  If an actual length
+     was specified, we want to return the length of exactly what was
+     read.  */
+  if (req_length == -1)
+    /* If the last character is null, subtract it from LENGTH.  */
+    if (*length > 0
+	&& extract_unsigned_integer (*buffer + *length - width, width) == 0)
+      *length -= width;
+
+  /* The read_string function will return the number of bytes read.
+     If length returned from read_string was > 0, return the number of
+     characters read by dividing the number of bytes by width.  */
+  if (*length != 0)
+    *length = *length / width;
 
   *charset = target_charset ();
 
Index: language.h
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/language.h,v
retrieving revision 1.57
diff -u -r1.57 language.h
--- language.h	20 Mar 2009 23:04:33 -0000	1.57
+++ language.h	30 Jun 2009 13:06:09 -0000
@@ -284,10 +284,15 @@
     int (*la_pass_by_reference) (struct type *type);
 
     /* Obtain a string from the inferior, storing it in a newly allocated
-       buffer in BUFFER, which should be freed by the caller.  LENGTH will
-       hold the size in bytes of the string (only actual characters, excluding
-       an eventual terminating null character).  CHARSET will hold the encoding
-       used in the string.  */
+       buffer in BUFFER, which should be freed by the caller.  If LENGTH
+       is specified at -1, the string is read until a null character
+       of the appropriate width is found -  otherwise the string is
+       read to the length of characters specified.
+       On completion, LENGTH will hold the size of the string in characters.
+       If a LENGTH of -1 was specified it will count only actual
+       characters, excluding any eventual terminating null character.
+       Otherwise LENGTH will include all characters - including any nulls.
+       CHARSET will hold the encoding used in the string.  */
     void (*la_get_string) (struct value *value, gdb_byte **buffer, int *length,
 			  const char **charset);
 
Index: varobj.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/varobj.c,v
retrieving revision 1.136
diff -u -r1.136 varobj.c
--- varobj.c	29 Jun 2009 13:24:41 -0000	1.136
+++ varobj.c	30 Jun 2009 13:06:43 -0000
@@ -2232,8 +2232,9 @@
   long dummy;
   struct ui_file *stb;
   struct cleanup *old_chain;
-  char *thevalue = NULL;
+  gdb_byte *thevalue = NULL;
   struct value_print_options opts;
+  int len = 0;
 
   if (value == NULL)
     return NULL;
@@ -2247,6 +2248,7 @@
 	char *hint;
 	struct value *replacement;
 	int string_print = 0;
+	PyObject *output = NULL;
 
 	hint = gdbpy_get_display_hint (value_formatter);
 	if (hint)
@@ -2256,15 +2258,27 @@
 	    xfree (hint);
 	  }
 
-	thevalue = apply_varobj_pretty_printer (value_formatter,
-						&replacement);
-	if (thevalue && !string_print)
+	output = apply_varobj_pretty_printer (value_formatter, &replacement);
+
+	if (output)
 	  {
-	    PyGILState_Release (state);
-	    return thevalue;
+	    PyObject *py_str = python_string_to_target_python_string (output);
+	    if (py_str)
+	      {
+		char *s = PyString_AsString (py_str);
+		len = PyString_Size (py_str);
+		thevalue = xmemdup (s, len + 1, len + 1);
+		Py_DECREF (py_str);
+	      }
+	    Py_DECREF (output);
 	  }
 	if (replacement)
 	  value = replacement;
+	if (thevalue && !string_print)
+         {
+           PyGILState_Release (state);
+           return thevalue;
+         }
       }
     PyGILState_Release (state);
   }
@@ -2280,8 +2294,7 @@
     {
       make_cleanup (xfree, thevalue);
       LA_PRINT_STRING (stb, builtin_type (current_gdbarch)->builtin_char,
-		       (gdb_byte *) thevalue, strlen (thevalue),
-		       0, &opts);
+		       thevalue, len, 0, &opts);
     }
   else
     common_val_print (value, stb, 0, &opts, current_language);
Index: doc/gdb.texinfo
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo,v
retrieving revision 1.602
diff -u -r1.602 gdb.texinfo
--- doc/gdb.texinfo	28 Jun 2009 18:53:12 -0000	1.602
+++ doc/gdb.texinfo	30 Jun 2009 13:06:57 -0000
@@ -18896,7 +18896,7 @@
 value pointed to by @code{foo}.
 @end defmethod
 
-@defmethod Value string @r{[}encoding@r{]} @r{[}errors@r{]}
+@defmethod Value string @r{[}encoding@r{]} @r{[}errors@r{]} @r{[}length@r{]}
 If this @code{gdb.Value} represents a string, then this method
 converts the contents to a Python string.  Otherwise, this method will
 throw an exception.
@@ -18907,7 +18907,9 @@
 
 For C-like languages, a value is a string if it is a pointer to or an
 array of characters or ints.  The string is assumed to be terminated
-by a zero of the appropriate width.
+by a zero of the appropriate width.  However if the optional length
+argument is given, the string will be converted beyond any embedded
+nulls up to the length specified.
 
 If the optional @var{encoding} argument is given, it must be a string
 naming the encoding of the string in the @code{gdb.Value}, such as
@@ -18921,6 +18923,9 @@
 
 The optional @var{errors} argument is the same as the corresponding
 argument to Python's @code{string.decode} method.
+
+If the optional @var{length} argument is given, the string will be
+fetched and converted to the given length.
 @end defmethod
 @end table
 
Index: python/python-internal.h
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/python/python-internal.h,v
retrieving revision 1.15
diff -u -r1.15 python-internal.h
--- python/python-internal.h	28 May 2009 01:09:20 -0000	1.15
+++ python/python-internal.h	30 Jun 2009 13:07:12 -0000
@@ -107,14 +107,15 @@
 PyObject *python_string_to_unicode (PyObject *obj);
 char *unicode_to_target_string (PyObject *unicode_str);
 char *python_string_to_target_string (PyObject *obj);
+PyObject *python_string_to_target_python_string (PyObject *obj);
 char *python_string_to_host_string (PyObject *obj);
 PyObject *target_string_to_unicode (const gdb_byte *str, int length);
 int gdbpy_is_string (PyObject *obj);
 
 /* Note that these are declared here, and not in python.h with the
    other pretty-printer functions, because they refer to PyObject.  */
-char *apply_varobj_pretty_printer (PyObject *print_obj,
-				   struct value **replacement);
+PyObject *apply_varobj_pretty_printer (PyObject *print_obj,
+				       struct value **replacement);
 PyObject *gdbpy_get_varobj_pretty_printer (struct value *value);
 char *gdbpy_get_display_hint (PyObject *printer);
 PyObject *gdbpy_default_visualizer (PyObject *self, PyObject *args);
Index: python/python-prettyprint.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/python/python-prettyprint.c,v
retrieving revision 1.3
diff -u -r1.3 python-prettyprint.c
--- python/python-prettyprint.c	28 May 2009 16:30:39 -0000	1.3
+++ python/python-prettyprint.c	30 Jun 2009 13:07:13 -0000
@@ -121,34 +121,35 @@
   
   return function;
 }
-
-/* Pretty-print a single value, via the printer object PRINTER.  If
-   the function returns a string, an xmalloc()d copy is returned.
-   Otherwise, if the function returns a value, a *OUT_VALUE is set to
-   the value, and NULL is returned.  On error, *OUT_VALUE is set to
-   NULL and NULL is returned.  */
-static char *
+/* Pretty-print a single value, via the printer object PRINTER.
+   If the function returns a string, a PyObject containing the string
+   is returned.  Otherwise, if the function returns a value,
+   *OUT_VALUE is set to the value, and NULL is returned.  On error,
+   *OUT_VALUE is set to NULL, and NULL is returned.  */
+static PyObject *
 pretty_print_one_value (PyObject *printer, struct value **out_value)
 {
-  char *output = NULL;
   volatile struct gdb_exception except;
+  PyObject *result = NULL;
 
+  *out_value = NULL;
   TRY_CATCH (except, RETURN_MASK_ALL)
     {
-      PyObject *result;
-
       result = PyObject_CallMethodObjArgs (printer, gdbpy_to_string_cst, NULL);
       if (result)
 	{
-	  if (gdbpy_is_string (result))
-	    output = python_string_to_host_string (result);
-	  else
-	    *out_value = convert_value_from_python (result);
-	  Py_DECREF (result);
+	  if (! gdbpy_is_string (result))
+	    {
+              *out_value = convert_value_from_python (result);
+	      if (PyErr_Occurred ())
+		*out_value = NULL;
+	      Py_DECREF (result);
+	      result = NULL;
+	    }
 	}
     }
 
-  return output;
+  return result;
 }
 
 /* Return the display hint for the object printer, PRINTER.  Return
@@ -183,19 +184,28 @@
 		   const struct value_print_options *options,
 		   const struct language_defn *language)
 {
-  char *output;
   struct value *replacement = NULL;
+  PyObject *py_str = NULL;
 
-  output = pretty_print_one_value (printer, &replacement);
-  if (output)
+  py_str = pretty_print_one_value (printer, &replacement);
+  if (py_str)
     {
-      if (hint && !strcmp (hint, "string"))
-	LA_PRINT_STRING (stream, builtin_type (current_gdbarch)->builtin_char,
-			 (gdb_byte *) output, strlen (output),
-			 0, options);
-      else
-	fputs_filtered (output, stream);
-      xfree (output);
+       PyObject *string = python_string_to_target_python_string (py_str);
+       if (string)
+	 {
+	   gdb_byte *output = PyString_AsString (string);
+	   int len = PyString_Size (string);
+
+	   if (hint && !strcmp (hint, "string"))
+	     LA_PRINT_STRING (stream, builtin_type (current_gdbarch)->builtin_char,
+			      output, len, 0, options);
+	   else
+	     fputs_filtered (output, stream);
+	   Py_DECREF (string);
+	 }
+       else
+	 gdbpy_print_stack ();
+       Py_DECREF (py_str);
     }
   else if (replacement)
     common_val_print (replacement, stream, recurse, options, language);
@@ -510,28 +520,31 @@
   return result;
 }
 
-/* Apply a pretty-printer for the varobj code.  PRINTER_OBJ is the
-   print object.  It must have a 'to_string' method (but this is
-   checked by varobj, not here) which takes no arguments and
-   returns a string.  This function returns an xmalloc()d string if
-   the printer returns a string.  The printer may return a replacement
-   value instead; in this case *REPLACEMENT is set to the replacement
-   value, and this function returns NULL.  On error, *REPLACEMENT is
-   set to NULL and this function also returns NULL.  */
-char *
+ /* Apply a pretty-printer for the varobj code.  PRINTER_OBJ is the
+    print object.  It must have a 'to_string' method (but this is
+    checked by varobj, not here) which takes no arguments and
+    returns a string.  The printer will return a value and in the case
+    of a Python string being returned, this function will return a
+    PyObject containing the string.  For any other type, *REPLACEMENT is
+    set to the replacement value and this function returns NULL.  On
+    error, *REPLACEMENT is set to NULL and this function also returns
+    NULL.  */
+PyObject *
 apply_varobj_pretty_printer (PyObject *printer_obj,
 			     struct value **replacement)
 {
-  char *result;
+  int size = 0;
   PyGILState_STATE state = PyGILState_Ensure ();
+  PyObject *py_str = NULL;
 
   *replacement = NULL;
-  result = pretty_print_one_value (printer_obj, replacement);
-  if (result == NULL);
+  py_str  = pretty_print_one_value (printer_obj, replacement);
+
+  if (*replacement == NULL && py_str == NULL)
     gdbpy_print_stack ();
   PyGILState_Release (state);
 
-  return result;
+  return py_str;
 }
 
 /* Find a pretty-printer object for the varobj module.  Returns a new
Index: python/python-utils.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/python/python-utils.c,v
retrieving revision 1.6
diff -u -r1.6 python-utils.c
--- python/python-utils.c	26 Feb 2009 20:45:21 -0000	1.6
+++ python/python-utils.c	30 Jun 2009 13:07:13 -0000
@@ -121,6 +121,23 @@
   return result;
 }
 
+/* Returns a PyObject with the contents of the given unicode string
+   object converted to a named charset.  If an error occurs during
+   the conversion, NULL will be returned and a python exception will
+   be set.  */
+static PyObject *
+unicode_to_encoded_python_string (PyObject *unicode_str, const char *charset)
+{
+  PyObject *string;
+
+  /* Translate string to named charset.  */
+  string = PyUnicode_AsEncodedString (unicode_str, charset, NULL);
+  if (string == NULL)
+    return NULL;
+
+  return string;
+}
+
 /* Returns a newly allocated string with the contents of the given unicode
    string object converted to the target's charset.  If an error occurs during
    the conversion, NULL will be returned and a python exception will be set.
@@ -132,6 +149,16 @@
   return unicode_to_encoded_string (unicode_str, target_charset ());
 }
 
+/* Returns a PyObject with the contents of the given unicode string
+   object converted to the target's charset.  If an error occurs
+   during the conversion, NULL will be returned and a python exception
+   will be set.  */
+PyObject *
+unicode_to_target_python_string (PyObject *unicode_str)
+{
+  return unicode_to_encoded_python_string (unicode_str, target_charset ());
+}
+
 /* Converts a python string (8-bit or unicode) to a target string in
    the target's charset.  Returns NULL on error, with a python exception set.
 
@@ -151,6 +178,24 @@
   return result;
 }
 
+/* Converts a python string (8-bit or unicode) to a target string in the
+   target's charset.  Returns NULL on error, with a python exception
+   set.  */
+PyObject *
+python_string_to_target_python_string (PyObject *obj)
+{
+  PyObject *str;
+  PyObject *result;
+
+  str = python_string_to_unicode (obj);
+  if (str == NULL)
+    return NULL;
+
+  result = unicode_to_target_python_string (str);
+  Py_DECREF (str);
+  return result;
+}
+
 /* Converts a python string (8-bit or unicode) to a target string in
    the host's charset.  Returns NULL on error, with a python exception set.
 
Index: python/python-value.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/python/python-value.c,v
retrieving revision 1.18
diff -u -r1.18 python-value.c
--- python/python-value.c	29 Jun 2009 13:24:41 -0000	1.18
+++ python/python-value.c	30 Jun 2009 13:07:13 -0000
@@ -189,13 +189,16 @@
   return obj->type;
 }
 
-/* Implementation of gdb.Value.string ([encoding] [, errors]) -> string
-   Return Unicode string with value contents.  If ENCODING is not given,
-   the string is assumed to be encoded in the target's charset.  */
+/* Implementation of gdb.Value.string ([encoding] [, errors]
+   [, length]) -> string.  Return Unicode string with value contents.
+   If ENCODING is not given, the string is assumed to be encoded in
+   the target's charset.  If LENGTH is provided, only fetch string to
+   the length provided.  */
+
 static PyObject *
 valpy_string (PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kw)
 {
-  int length, ret = 0;
+  int length = -1, ret = 0;
   gdb_byte *buffer;
   struct value *value = ((value_object *) self)->value;
   volatile struct gdb_exception except;
@@ -204,10 +207,10 @@
   const char *errors = NULL;
   const char *user_encoding = NULL;
   const char *la_encoding = NULL;
-  static char *keywords[] = { "encoding", "errors" };
+  static char *keywords[] = { "encoding", "errors", "length" };
 
-  if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords (args, kw, "|ss", keywords,
-				    &user_encoding, &errors))
+  if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords (args, kw, "|ssi", keywords,
+				    &user_encoding, &errors, &length))
     return NULL;
 
   TRY_CATCH (except, RETURN_MASK_ALL)
@@ -939,7 +942,7 @@
   { "cast", valpy_cast, METH_VARARGS, "Cast the value to the supplied type." },
   { "dereference", valpy_dereference, METH_NOARGS, "Dereferences the value." },
   { "string", (PyCFunction) valpy_string, METH_VARARGS | METH_KEYWORDS,
-    "string ([encoding] [, errors]) -> string\n\
+    "string ([encoding] [, errors] [, length]) -> string\n\
 Return Unicode string representation of the value." },
   {NULL}  /* Sentinel */
 };
Index: testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.c,v
retrieving revision 1.1
diff -u -r1.1 python-prettyprint.c
--- testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.c	28 May 2009 01:05:14 -0000	1.1
+++ testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.c	30 Jun 2009 13:07:41 -0000
@@ -27,6 +27,11 @@
   struct s b;
 };
 
+struct ns {
+  const char *null_str;
+  int length;
+};
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 struct S : public s {
   int zs;
@@ -156,6 +161,10 @@
   init_ss(ssa+0, 3, 4);
   init_ss(ssa+1, 5, 6);
 
+  struct ns  ns;
+  ns.null_str = "embedded\0null\0string";
+  ns.length = 20;
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
   S cps;
 
Index: testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.exp
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.exp,v
retrieving revision 1.1
diff -u -r1.1 python-prettyprint.exp
--- testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.exp	28 May 2009 01:05:14 -0000	1.1
+++ testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.exp	30 Jun 2009 13:07:41 -0000
@@ -78,6 +78,7 @@
 	gdb_test "print ref" "= a=<15> b=< a=<8> b=<$hex>>"
 	gdb_test "print derived" \
 	    " = \{.*<Vbase1> = pp class name: Vbase1.*<Vbase2> = \{.*<VirtualTest> = pp value variable is: 1,.*members of Vbase2:.*_vptr.Vbase2 = $hex.*<Vbase3> = \{.*members of Vbase3.*members of Derived:.*value = 2.*"
+	gdb_test "print ns " "\"embedded\\\\0null\\\\0string\""
     }
 
     gdb_test "print x" " = $hex \"this is x\""
Index: testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.py
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.py,v
retrieving revision 1.1
diff -u -r1.1 python-prettyprint.py
--- testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.py	28 May 2009 01:05:14 -0000	1.1
+++ testsuite/gdb.python/python-prettyprint.py	30 Jun 2009 13:07:41 -0000
@@ -92,6 +92,19 @@
     def to_string (self):
         return "pp class name: " + self.val.type.tag
 
+class pp_ns:
+    "Print a std::basic_string of some kind"
+
+    def __init__(self, val):
+        self.val = val
+
+    def to_string(self):
+        len = self.val['length']
+        return self.val['null_str'].string (gdb.parameter ('target-charset'), length = len)
+
+    def display_hint (self):
+        return 'string'
+
 def lookup_function (val):
     "Look-up and return a pretty-printer that can print val."
 
@@ -145,6 +158,8 @@
     pretty_printers_dict[re.compile ('^string_repr$')] = string_print
     pretty_printers_dict[re.compile ('^container$')] = ContainerPrinter
     
+    pretty_printers_dict[re.compile ('^struct ns$')]  = pp_ns
+    pretty_printers_dict[re.compile ('^ns$')]  = pp_ns
 pretty_printers_dict = {}
 
 register_pretty_printers ()
Index: testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.c,v
retrieving revision 1.4
diff -u -r1.4 python-value.c
--- testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.c	28 May 2009 00:47:20 -0000	1.4
+++ testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.c	30 Jun 2009 13:07:41 -0000
@@ -44,6 +44,8 @@
   struct s s;
   union u u;
   PTR x = &s;
+  char st[17] = "divide et impera";
+  char nullst[17] = "divide\0et\0impera";
 
   s.a = 3;
   s.b = 5;
Index: testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.exp
===================================================================
RCS file: /cvs/src/src/gdb/testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.exp,v
retrieving revision 1.8
diff -u -r1.8 python-value.exp
--- testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.exp	28 May 2009 00:47:20 -0000	1.8
+++ testsuite/gdb.python/python-value.exp	30 Jun 2009 13:07:41 -0000
@@ -234,6 +234,25 @@
 
   # Test address attribute
   gdb_test "python print 'result =', arg0.address" "= 0x\[\[:xdigit:\]\]+" "Test address attribute"
+
+  # Test string fetches,  both partial and whole.
+  gdb_test "print st" "\"divide et impera\""
+  gdb_py_test_silent_cmd "python st = gdb.history (0)" "get value from history" 1
+  gdb_test "python print st.string ()"  "divide et impera"  "Test string with no length"
+  gdb_test "python print st.string (length = -1)" "divide et impera" "Test string (length = -1) is all of the string"
+  gdb_test "python print st.string (length = 6)" "divide"
+  gdb_test "python print \"---\"+st.string (length = 0)+\"---\"" "------" "Test string (length = 0) is empty"
+  gdb_test "python print len(st.string (length = 0))" "0" "Test length is 0"
+
+
+  # Fetch a string that has embedded nulls.
+  gdb_test "print nullst" "\"divide\\\\0et\\\\0impera\".*"
+  gdb_py_test_silent_cmd "python nullst = gdb.history (0)" "get value from history" 1
+  gdb_test "python print nullst.string ()" "divide" "Test string to first null"
+  # Python cannot print strings that contain the null (\0) character.
+  # For the purposes of this test, use repr()
+  gdb_py_test_silent_cmd "python nullst = nullst.string (length = 9)" "get string beyond null" 1
+  gdb_test "python print repr(nullst)" "u'divide\\\\x00et'"
 }
 
 # A few objfile tests.