2.12: Nothing Data Type
- Page ID
- 10627
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Overview
A nothing data type is a feature of some programming languages which allow the setting of a special value to indicate a missing or uninitialized value rather than using the value 0 (zero).[1]
Discussion
Most programming languages support the use of a reserved word or words to represent missing, uninitialized, or invalid values.
Language | Reserved Word | Meaning |
---|---|---|
C++ | null | no value |
C# | null | no value |
Java | null | no value |
JavaScript | null | no value |
JavaScript | NaN | Not a Number |
Python | None | no value |
Swift | nil | no value |
Key Terms
- NaN
- Reserved word used to indicate a non-numeric value in a numeric variable.
- null
- Reserved word used to represent a missing value or invalid value.
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Wikipedia: Nullable type
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