Prefer modern JavaScript null-safe operators over verbose conditional checks to improve code readability and prevent null-related errors. Use optional chaining (?.) for safe property access, nullish coalescing (??) for default values, and nullish coalescing assignment (??=) for lazy initialization. **Key patterns to adopt:** 1. **Optional chaining for safe property access:** ```javascript // Instead of verbose null checks if (reaction.parent !== null && (reaction.parent.f & DERIVED) !== 0) // Use optional chaining if ((reaction.parent?.f & DERIVED) !== 0) ``` 2. **Nullish coalescing for default values:** ```javascript // Instead of logical OR parent: parent_derived || active_effect // Use nullish coalescing to handle only null/undefined parent: parent_derived ?? active_effect ``` 3. **Nullish coalescing assignment for lazy initialization:** ```javascript // Instead of separate checks and assignments if (to_animate === undefined) to_animate = new Set(); to_animate.add(item); // Use nullish coalescing assignment (to_animate ??= new Set()).add(item); ``` 4. **Optional chaining for method calls:** ```javascript // Instead of conditional calls if (handler) { return handler.call(this, event); } // Use optional chaining return handler?.call(this, event); ``` These operators provide cleaner, more expressive code while maintaining the same null-safety guarantees. They're particularly valuable in complex expressions where traditional null checks would require nested conditionals or temporary variables.