[mtdewcmu]

I don't see anything inherently broken about null-terminated strings. It means that the smallest string that can be represented is a single byte, and the largest string that can be represented is unlimited. By mixing in an integer, you're expanding the smallest string and placing an arbitrary limit on the largest string. If the integer and string data are mixed in a struct, then strings pack much less tightly, not just because of the space taken up by the integer, but also because it needs to be aligned. Most of the things you'd want to do with a string are O(n) anyway, like print to the terminal. Null-terminated strings aren't perfect for every use, but no representation is, and C doesn't prevent you from using a different representation when it's more appropriate. If you're writing a parser, then that's a more demanding application than usual, and you ought not feel locked into using the default representation.