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Programming Tech Brief By HackerNoon

Programming Tech Brief By HackerNoon

Code Smell 208 - Don't Use Null for Real Places

Programming Tech Brief By HackerNoon · Aug 4, 2026 · 6:20

0:006:20

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This story was originally published on HackerNoon at: https://hackernoon.com/code-smell-208-dont-use-null-for-real-places.
Learn why using (0, 0) for missing coordinates creates bugs and how a polymorphic Location type keeps Kotlin models accurate.
Check more stories related to programming at: https://hackernoon.com/c/programming. You can also check exclusive content about #code-smells, #null-code-smell, #kotlin-null-handling, #sentinel-values, #missing-coordinates, #location-modeling, #polymorphism, #hackernoon-top-story, and more.

This story was written by: @mcsee. Learn more about this writer by checking @mcsee's about page, and for more stories, please visit hackernoon.com.

Learn why using (0, 0) for missing coordinates creates bugs and how a polymorphic Location type keeps Kotlin models accurate.

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