Affect of NULL Type in Coding

[j.silver]

Having NULL type as an object to be a bug in js, is there any harm to code this could result in, and what precautions should we take to avoid such harm?

[Ingolme]

It's not really a bug, it's actually designed that way in the specification: http://www.ecma-international.org/ecma-262/5.1/#sec-11.4.3

 

My first recommendation would be to not use the typeof operator. You might think you need it, but there probably is a better way to design your software. If you show me the code where you need it I can find out how to write the code without it.

[j.silver]

Any precautions or recommendations in using NULL itself?

[Ingolme]

Null is usually the value you assign to a variable if it's meant to contain an object but does not have one yet. You can set a variable to null in order to remove a reference to an object and free memory.

[justsomeguy]

It's no more "dangerous" to use null than it is to use an integer, boolean, or string. It's just a type of value.

[davej]

Having NULL type as an object to be a bug in js, is there any harm to code this could result in, and what precautions should we take to avoid such harm?

 

Null is commonly used to indicate that a variable or object is invalid, so it is not a bug, but it may indeed indicate that your code isn't working.