Option Type

Definitions

1. A type that represents a value that may or may not exist, used to safely handle the absence of data without resorting to null references. Common variants include Some(value) and None in Rust, or Just and Nothing in Haskell.

   In plain English: A container that either holds a value or explicitly says 'nothing here,' forcing you to handle both cases instead of crashing on a surprise null.

   Example: "We replaced every nullable field with an Option type and our NullPointerExceptions dropped to zero."

Related Terms

• Discriminated Union
• Effect System
• Null Safety
• Nullable
• Predicate
• Proc
• Static Typing
• Strong Typing
• Tail Call
• Type System
• Union Type
• Algebraic Data Type
• Memoization
• Referential Transparency
• Phantom Type
• Effect System
• Lens
• Partial Application