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This is similar to a Sentinal Value en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinel_value It's a special value that signifies that your code should behave differently. I think the only requirement for using one is that it has the same type as an actual value, but it will not be realistically returned. So -1 could be a sentinal value for an algorithm that counts things but not for an algorithm that solves equations.

user2023861
– user2023861

2016-03-07 16:53:53 +00:00
Commented Mar 7, 2016 at 16:53
It's not really a sentinel value... Sentinel values have something to do with lists or sequences and work as a value that indicates the end of said list or sequence. Null Objects are specific objects that are designed to act as an object that has no specific behaviour.

JDT
– JDT

2016-03-07 18:34:02 +00:00
Commented Mar 7, 2016 at 18:34

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