The notion was that strings would be consumed fully, thus the starting pointer could be used for iteration, and null char is a natural end condition. Here it is

The notion was that strings would be consumed fully, thus the starting pointer could be used for iteration, and null char is a natural end condition. Here it is, saving an int and cycles for tracking length. It's just coding in such way appears to be too low-level. Pointer in programmer's hand became akin to neuro-surgeon's scalpel... casually performing surgery often on 'self' and with shaky hands. Sure, take this length to limit potential damage.