optiontyper
Optiontyper is a term used to describe a family of type constructors that represent optional values in a programming language. An option typer is a parameterized type that can contain a value of a given type or indicate its absence. This design makes missing data explicit in the type system, reducing reliance on null references and enabling safer error handling and data flow.
In most implementations, an optiontyper is defined with two cases or constructors: one representing presence (for
Usage and trade-offs: Optiontypers encourage explicit handling of missing data, improving program safety and composability of
Common implementations and concepts: Many languages implement option typers under different names, including Maybe in Haskell,
See also: Maybe type, Optional, Nullable types, Null safety, Monads.