distinct-special-values

What problem does it solve?

Don't use -1, 0, or "" as special values. Use null or a distinct type to represent missing or exceptional states, enabling TypeScript to distinguish them and prevent logic errors.

Core Features & Use Cases

• Use null, undefined, or tagged unions to model "missing" or "unknown" states.
• Wrap APIs that rely on sentinel values like -1 to expose safe types.
• Prefer explicit error states and well-defined return types to reduce bugs in large codebases.

Quick Start

Refactor functions that use sentinel values like -1 or "" to return a distinct type (e.g., number | null or a tagged union) and update call sites to handle the new type.