"""
Languages have a special value to indicate "no object":

	Name	 Languages
	----	 ---------
	nil      Cobra, Smalltalk, Objective-C
	null     C#, Java
	NULL     C, C++
	None     Python
	Nothing  Visual Basic

But Cobra's nil can only be applied when a type is "nilable" as indicated by a
question mark suffix such as "String?". Cobra then enforces how nilable types
are used with the upshot that run-time "null reference exceptions" almost
never happen in Cobra programs.
"""

class Thing

	var _name as String  # must be initialized
	var _alternateName as String?  # can be left nil
	
	cue init(name as String)
		base.init
		_name = name
	
	pro name from var
	
	pro alternateName from var


class Limits
	"""
	Tracks min/max limits which default to 0 and 10 respectively.
	"""

	shared
		var _defaultMin = 0
		var _defaultMax = 10
	
	var _min as int?  # start life as nil
	var _max as int?
	
	cue init
		base.init
	
	get min as int
		if _min  # checks for non-nil
			return _min
		else
			return _defaultMin

	get max as int
		# can use if-expression instead of if-statement
		return _max ? _defaultMax


class ExampleCalls

	def printValue(v as Object)
		# note that this method won't take nil because the arg is "Object" not "Object?"
		print v

	def main
		th = Thing('two')
		th.alternateName = '2'
		th.alternateName = nil  # no problem since .alternateName is a String?
		# th.name = nil  # compiler error: cannot assign nil to non-nilable type

		.printValue(th.name)

		altName = th.alternateName  # type inference determines that `altName` type is String?
		# .printValue(altName)  # compiler error: cannot pass nilable type where non-nilable expected
		# two solutions:
		if altName  # checks for non-nil
			.printValue(altName)  # compiler understands this is okay
		else
			print 'alternate name is nil'

		# or typecast to non-nil ("x to !") for those times when you know the value will not be nil
		altName = 'Two'
		.printValue(altName to !)


class MoreInfo

	def foo
		# you can also affect type inference by casting to nilable with "x to ?"
		value = 0 to ?   # type is "int?"

		# you can return nil in an if-expression which makes the type nilable
		name = if(value and value <> 0, 'value', nil)  # type is "String?"
		if name, print name

		# you can coalesce with ? as a binary operator
		displayName = name ? '(no name)'
		print displayName