int func (char *params, ...)
{
    int len;
    char *token;
    ...

    len= strpbrk(params, " :,") - params;
    if (len < 0) {
        len = strlen(params);
        last = 1;
    }
    token= (char *)malloc(len+1);
    strncpy(token, params, len);
    ...