Does Rust solve the billion dollar mistake?

Explore the concept of null pointers and how Rust solves the problem associated with them. In the video, Tim McNamara discusses a common coding issue known as the 'billion dollar mistake' which is tied up with the use of null pointers in programming languages like C and C++ (and originally from ALGOL). Tim explains that Rust's type system guarantees that references to values will always point to valid places in memory, effectively eliminating the risk of null pointer exceptions.

He illuminates the root of this analogous mistake, spotlighting its origins in the 70s and 80s, and its continued prevalence across various programming languages. Rust addresses this issue in a unique way, by not allowing null pointers to exist.

Tim then delves into the specificities of Rust's type system, mentioning the role of the 'unsafe' keyword, and explaining the workaround for instances when null pointers do need to be used. He also emphasizes the application of Rust's 'option type' in handling potential null values.

🦀 Rust resources:
Tim's tutorial videos https://timclicks.dev
Rust Documentation: https://doc.rust-lang.org/book/
Rust Playground: https://play.rust-lang.org/
Rust in Action (Tim's book!) https://mng.bz/4MlD
How to Learn Rust (online course!) https://learning.accelerant.dev/how-t...

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