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2.12: Nothing Data Type

  • Page ID
    10627
  • \( \newcommand{\vecs}[1]{\overset { \scriptstyle \rightharpoonup} {\mathbf{#1}} } \) \( \newcommand{\vecd}[1]{\overset{-\!-\!\rightharpoonup}{\vphantom{a}\smash {#1}}} \)\(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \(\newcommand{\id}{\mathrm{id}}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\) \( \newcommand{\kernel}{\mathrm{null}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\range}{\mathrm{range}\,}\) \( \newcommand{\RealPart}{\mathrm{Re}}\) \( \newcommand{\ImaginaryPart}{\mathrm{Im}}\) \( \newcommand{\Argument}{\mathrm{Arg}}\) \( \newcommand{\norm}[1]{\| #1 \|}\) \( \newcommand{\inner}[2]{\langle #1, #2 \rangle}\) \( \newcommand{\Span}{\mathrm{span}}\)\(\newcommand{\AA}{\unicode[.8,0]{x212B}}\)

    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.

    1. Wikipedia: Nullable type

    2.12: Nothing Data Type is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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