-#define GEDCOM_MAKE_DATE(DATE) \
- GEDCOM_MAKE(DATE, GV_DATE_VALUE, date_val)
+#define GEDCOM_MAKE_STRING(VAR, STRING) \
+ GEDCOM_MAKE(VAR, STRING, GV_CHAR_PTR, string_val)
+
+#define GEDCOM_MAKE_NULL_OR_STRING(VAR, STRING) \
+ (STRING == NULL ? \
+ GEDCOM_MAKE_NULL(VAR) : \
+ GEDCOM_MAKE_STRING(VAR, STRING))