Difference between initializing a string with (char *)malloc(0) and NULL

Question

Why allocating a 0 size char block works in this case? But if I write char *string = NULL; it won\'t work.

I\'m using Visual Studio.

Answer 1

The above code invokes undefined behavior. You have allocated insufficient memory and you are accessing invalid addresses.

According to the specifications, malloc(0) will return either "a null pointer or a unique pointer that can be successfully passed to free()".