Disallow null references in safe code?

[Jonathan M Davis]

On Sunday, February 02, 2014 17:41:58 Meta wrote:
> > True, but I don't even agree that null pointers are that big a
> > deal in the
> > first place. If we really want to add non-nullable pointers or
> > references to
> > the language, then we can. I don't think that that's
> > necessarily a bad idea.
> > But I doubt that I'll use them often, and I do think that the
> > whole issue is
> > frequently blown out of proportion.
> > 
> > - Jonathan M Davis
> 
> Ideally you'd be using them wherever you use objects and
> pointers, as they'd be the default.

I truly hope that that's never the case. Adding non-nullable references to the 
language is one thing; making them the default is quite another, and making 
them the default would break existing code. And given Walter's normal stance 
on code breakage, I'd be very surprised if he were in favor of making non-
nullable references or pointers the default.

- Jonathan M Davis