Explicit null handling

Use explicit identity comparisons for null checks and leverage modern PHP null-handling features to create more reliable, readable code. ## Key practices:

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Use explicit identity comparisons for null checks and leverage modern PHP null-handling features to create more reliable, readable code.

Key practices:

1. Use identity operators for null checks instead of functions

// Avoid
if (is_null($value)) { ... }
if (empty($path)) { ... }

// Prefer
if ($value === null) { ... }
if ($path === '') { ... }
if ($array === []) { ... }

Identity comparisons (===, !==) are more precise than functions like is_null() or empty(). They clearly communicate your intent and avoid unexpected behavior with falsy values like '0' or 0.

2. Leverage null coalescing operators

// Avoid
$name = (string) (is_null($this->argument('name')) 
    ? $choice 
    : $this->argument('name'));

// Prefer
$name = (string) ($this->argument('name') ?? $choice);

The null coalescing operator (??) simplifies conditional logic and makes your code more concise and readable.

3. Add proper null annotations in docblocks and types

// Avoid
/** @param string $string The input string to sanitize. */
public static function sanitize($string) 
{
    if ($string === null) {
        return null;
    }
}

// Prefer
/** @param string|null $string The input string to sanitize. */
/** @return string|null The sanitized string. */
public static function sanitize(?string $string) 
{
    if ($string === null) {
        return null;
    }
}

Accurately document nullable parameters and return types for better static analysis and IDE support.

4. Check for null before method calls

// Avoid direct method calls on possibly null values
$using($this->app);

// Prefer
if ($using !== null) {
    $this->app->call($using);
}

Always check if variables are null before calling methods on them to prevent null reference exceptions.

5. Be careful with null in array and object relationships

// Check if a relation exists before accessing properties
if (isset($relation)) {
    $attributes[$key] = $relation;
}

Remember that isset() returns false for null values, which may not be what you expect when working with relationships or arrays that might legitimately contain null values.

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