Comment by CivBase

There is a difference between storing a string with only a null character (i.e. an empty string) and a proper null (i.e. the absense of value). That is what I was getting at when I listed "C strings" as an example.

Since in C strings are quasi-arrays and arrays are quasi-pointers there is probably a way to use a null pointer, but this would be a local convention for getting around C's lack of native support for null values. You couldn't expect it to be supported by utilities or libraries.