voidTyp
voidTyp is a conceptual data type used in discussions of programming language design. It represents a container that can hold a value of any concrete type at runtime while retaining the ability to determine or enforce the contained type when needed. The name blends void, indicating an absence of a fixed value, with typ, from type, signaling its role as a type-capable container.
Origin and etymology: The term is used in speculative discussions and did not become a standard language
Implementation: In typical designs, voidTyp uses type erasure: a non-owning or owning pointer to a type-erased
Characteristics: The type carries minimal static information; operations are resolved at runtime. It provides dynamic typing
Use cases: Interoperability across modules, plugin architectures, messaging systems, serialization, scripting interfaces embedded in a host
Limitations: Runtime type checks add overhead; unsafe casts can cause errors; code complexity increases; some compilers
See also: dynamic typing, any type, std::any, type erasure, variant, reflection, serialization.