NULL: The worst mistake of computer science? (2015)
Report a link problem
Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment orderNULL can mean and be different things in different domains of computer science. NULL in the database world isn't the same thing in the programming world. In the programming world, null is a result of the system architecture, systems programming, etc. In SQL, NULL is a result "lack of data". There have been debates on whether there should be different types of NULL. A NULL type for "data that is available but we don't have it yet" - like car…
It's worth noting that having a NULL, somewhere, is not so much a problem as forcing types to have a NULL. In this respect, e.g. Python and Rust both get it right: while Python has a None, and Rust has std::ptr::null(), an object that is a string cannot be any of those, because those are different types (NoneType and raw pointer, respectively). C's problem is that a string could be null, and there's no syntax for a non-null string. Python's…
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 368
- Total comments
- 510
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-08-31 | What is wrong with NULLFirst breakout | mjswensen | 150 | 142 |
| 2017-04-08 | Null | nlolks | 6 | 0 |
| 2018-12-03 | NULL: The worst mistake of computer science? (2015)Best thread · Latest 20+ point return | BerislavLopac | 209 | 368 |
| 2022-07-04 | The Worst Mistake of Computer Science | andsoitis | 3 | 0 |