replacement for 'the_category'

<?php
$chars_limit = 5;
$sep = '';
foreach((get_the_category()) as $cat) {
    $chars_text = strlen ($cat->cat_name);
    $cat_short = substr ($cat->cat_name, 0, $chars_limit);
    if ($chars_limit < $chars_text) {
        $cat_short = $cat_short . "...";
    }
    echo $sep . '<a href="' . get_category_link( $cat->term_id ) . '">' . $cat_short . '</a>';
$sep = ', '; //comma separated list
}
?>