On 5/26/2013 11:59 PM, Jonathan M Davis wrote:
Again, it's not the case that null references aren't a problem. It's just that they're being blown of proportion, and it's just not worth adding a built-in type to deal with them at this point (let alone making references in general non-nullable by default as some people would like done). You don't add new features to a language to solve every bug that comes along. We have a powerful language. Let's take advantage of it. The library solution should be fine. It just isn't as extreme a solution as some people would like.
Right. I just think the null pointer issue has become a cause celebre, reaching mythic proportions, culminating in that article that lists any language that allows null pointers is a "deal-breaker".