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GeneralRe: Why I love Windows 8 Pin
Brisingr Aerowing23-Apr-13 13:56
professionalBrisingr Aerowing23-Apr-13 13:56 
NewsArduino Tutorial for Complete Beginners: Using a Button Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 11:49
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 11:49 
GeneralRe: Arduino Tutorial for Complete Beginners: Using a Button Pin
DaveAuld22-Apr-13 20:08
professionalDaveAuld22-Apr-13 20:08 
NewsThe Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 11:49
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 11:49 
GeneralRe: The Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Matthew Faithfull22-Apr-13 22:34
Matthew Faithfull22-Apr-13 22:34 
GeneralRe: The Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Nemanja Trifunovic23-Apr-13 4:47
Nemanja Trifunovic23-Apr-13 4:47 
GeneralRe: The Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Matthew Faithfull23-Apr-13 11:45
Matthew Faithfull23-Apr-13 11:45 
GeneralRe: The Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Nemanja Trifunovic24-Apr-13 3:14
Nemanja Trifunovic24-Apr-13 3:14 
Matthew Faithfull wrote:
No thanks, I'll wait for version 3.5 or 4.0 of said language when they put NULLs back in to solve the problems they caused


Smile | :) Some of the languages without nulls are pretty old (ML, for instance) and I've never heard of any of them adding them. Nulls are simply a mistake - a billion dollar one[^], according to Tony Hoare who first introduced them:

"I call it my billion-dollar mistake. It was the invention of the null reference in 1965. At that time, I was designing the first comprehensive type system for references in an object oriented language (ALGOL W). My goal was to ensure that all use of references should be absolutely safe, with checking performed automatically by the compiler. But I couldn't resist the temptation to put in a null reference, simply because it was so easy to implement. This has led to innumerable errors, vulnerabilities, and system crashes, which have probably caused a billion dollars of pain and damage in the last forty years. In recent years, a number of program analysers like PREfix and PREfast in Microsoft have been used to check references, and give warnings if there is a risk they may be non-null. More recent programming languages like Spec# have introduced declarations for non-null references. This is the solution, which I rejected in 1965."

GeneralRe: The Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Matthew Faithfull24-Apr-13 8:10
Matthew Faithfull24-Apr-13 8:10 
GeneralRe: The Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Nemanja Trifunovic24-Apr-13 9:53
Nemanja Trifunovic24-Apr-13 9:53 
GeneralRe: The Definitive Reference To Why Maybe Is Better Than Null Pin
Matthew Faithfull24-Apr-13 12:33
Matthew Faithfull24-Apr-13 12:33 
NewsCodeMirror - In-browser code editing made bearable Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 11:49
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 11:49 
NewsUnderstanding .NET Garbage Collection Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:38
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:38 
NewsThe rise and fall of AMD: How an underdog stuck it to Intel Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:37
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:37 
NewsErlang: The Movie [video] Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:37
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:37 
NewsMicrosoft's Blue: What will developers do? Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:36
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:36 
NewsBioengineers Build Open Source Language for Programming Cells Pin
Terrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:35
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey22-Apr-13 10:35 
GeneralRe: Bioengineers Build Open Source Language for Programming Cells Pin
dusty_dex22-Apr-13 13:32
dusty_dex22-Apr-13 13:32 
GeneralRe: Bioengineers Build Open Source Language for Programming Cells Pin
Brisingr Aerowing23-Apr-13 13:59
professionalBrisingr Aerowing23-Apr-13 13:59 
NewsThe beginners guide to breaking website security with nothing more than a Pineapple Pin
Terrence Dorsey21-Apr-13 11:23
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey21-Apr-13 11:23 
GeneralRe: The beginners guide to breaking website security with nothing more than a Pineapple Pin
Brisingr Aerowing21-Apr-13 11:59
professionalBrisingr Aerowing21-Apr-13 11:59 
GeneralRe: The beginners guide to breaking website security with nothing more than a Pineapple Pin
SoMad21-Apr-13 21:09
professionalSoMad21-Apr-13 21:09 
GeneralRe: The beginners guide to breaking website security with nothing more than a Pineapple Pin
Brisingr Aerowing22-Apr-13 6:24
professionalBrisingr Aerowing22-Apr-13 6:24 
News10 Pieces of Really Bad Advice (for Computer Scientists) Pin
Terrence Dorsey21-Apr-13 11:22
sitebuilderTerrence Dorsey21-Apr-13 11:22 
GeneralRe: 10 Pieces of Really Bad Advice (for Computer Scientists) Pin
Chris Maunder21-Apr-13 15:11
cofounderChris Maunder21-Apr-13 15:11 

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