_C_h_a_r_a_c_t_e_r _S_t_r_i_n_g _V_e_c_t_o_r_s
	
	     character(n=0)
	
	     as.character(x)
	     is.character(x)
	
	_V_a_l_u_e:
	
	     This function creates a character vector of the speci-
	     fied length.  The elements of the vector are all equal
	     to "".
	
	     as.character attempts to coerce its argument to be of
	     character type.
	
	     is.character returns TRUE or FALSE depending on whether
	     its argument is of character type or not.