Hi Hubert,

Sorry for the delay.

There are many other features in STRING_32 (and other variants, including STRING_8) that do not ensure that there is null at the end, keep_head as an example.
On the other hand, there is a feature to_c that makes sure that there is null at the end. I guess, users should be using to_c and do not expect that using area directly guarantees 0-terminated sequence of characters.

In addition your suggestion would slow down Eiffel code.
For C code, there is a dedicated mechanism already.

So for now, I would suggest adapting your code that interfaces with C code, to either ensure you use the feature "to_c" , and avoid using string's area directly.
Or eventually call directly   "  s.area.put ('%U', s.count)  " if you really need a null character ending C memory for the associated SPECIAL object.