Editing C syntax (section)

====Variable width strings====
A common alternative to {{code|wchar_t}} is to use a [[variable-width encoding]], whereby a logical character may extend over multiple positions of the string. Variable-width strings may be encoded into literals verbatim, at the risk of confusing the compiler, or using numerical backslash escapes (e.g. {{code|"\xc3\xa9"}} for "é" in UTF-8). The [[UTF-8]] encoding was specifically designed (under [[Plan 9 from Bell Labs|Plan 9]]) for compatibility with the standard library string functions; supporting features of the encoding include a lack of embedded nulls, no valid interpretations for subsequences, and trivial resynchronisation. Encodings lacking these features are likely to prove incompatible with the standard library functions; encoding-aware string functions are often used in such cases.