Rust’s Option represents a value that may be absent: Some holds a value, while None safely represents absence without a null pointer. Use it when boxed data may be missing. section 5.5
Option
An option type is a type that explicitly represents either a value of a specified type or the absence of a value.
How Code Like a Pro in Rust covers it
- How deep it goes
- Defines Some and None through linked-list access, while leaving heap-allocation failure handling outside scope.
- Examples
- Uses None for a new node’s next link and Some to traverse to the next node.
- What you can do after
- Apply Rust’s Option to represent absent data without relying on unsafe null pointers.
- How it connects
- Connects Option with Box, null pointers, and singly linked lists.
Also explained in
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Functional Programming in Scala, Second EditionOption is a Scala standard-library type representing either the presence of a value with Some or its absence with None.
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F# in Action: A Revised Edition of Get Programming with F#An option is an F# generic discriminated union representing either the presence of a value with Some or its absence with None.
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Functional Programming in JavaScriptA monadic type that represents an optional value, distinguishing presence from absence without using null directly.
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Rust Servers, Services, and AppsOption is a Rust standard-library generic type representing either a value or its absence.
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Server-Side WebAssemblyOption is Rust's enum type for representing either a present value or the absence of a value.
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Functional Design and Architecture: Examples in HaskellThe Maybe type is an algebraic data type representing either an optional value or the absence of a value.
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100 Java Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemOptional is a Java standard-library container type representing either a present non-null value or an empty state.
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Related concepts
- algebraic data typekind of · An algebraic data type is a composite type whose values are formed from product structures, finite alternatives, or both through type constructors.
- missing valuealternative to · A missing value is a marker or condition indicating that an expected data value or reference is absent, unavailable, unknown, or inapplicable.
- functorkind of · A functor is an abstraction that maps values or objects while preserving the structure and relationships of their surrounding context.
- pattern matchingused by · Pattern matching is the process of comparing data or values with specified or learned patterns to identify correspondence, conformity, or a matching case.
This explainer was generated by Manning's knowledge graph from the text of Code Like a Pro in Rust. The section links point to the parts of the book it draws on.