Safe null handling

Always implement robust null handling patterns to prevent unexpected behavior and crashes. Consider all edge cases where null values might affect calculations, type conversions, or data operations:

1. Don’t rely on potentially null values for sizing or allocation decisions: ```rust // Bad: Zero allocation if first element is null let capacity = from.get(0) .map(|bytes| bytes.len() / element_size) .unwrap_or(0);

// Good: Use a reasonable default or derive from non-null elements let capacity = if from.is_empty() { DEFAULT_CAPACITY } else { // Find first non-null element or use default from.iter() .filter_map(|opt| opt.map(|bytes| bytes.len() / element_size)) .next() .unwrap_or(DEFAULT_CAPACITY) };

2. Use `Option<T>` when a function might not be able to determine a result with certainty:
```rust
// Bad: Returns bool even when we're uncertain
pub fn can_cast_to(&self, to: &DataType) -> bool {
    // might return false when we're not sure
}

// Good: Explicitly communicates uncertainty
pub fn can_cast_to(&self, to: &DataType) -> Option<bool> {
    // None = not sure, Some(false) = definitely cannot cast
}

1. Avoid unsafe shortcuts when accessing potentially null values - prefer safe methods that properly handle nulls and bounds checking: ```rust // Bad: Unsafe access for simple value retrieval if let Some(value) = unsafe { array.get_unchecked(0) } { // … }

// Good: Safe access with proper null handling if let Some(value) = array.get(0) { // … } ```