helpers

helpers provides small generic utilities for working with pointers and zero values.

It is designed to help you replace repetitive pointer-handling and zero-value patterns with small functions for:

• creating and dereferencing pointers safely
• checking for nil pointers
• working with zero/empty values of any type

Overview

Use helpers when you want pointer and value utilities that are easy to read, reuse, and test.

It is especially useful when:

• you need to take the address of a literal or computed value inline
• you want safe dereferencing with a fallback instead of a nil check
• you need to check whether a value is the zero value of its type

When to use it

Use helpers when:

• you need a pointer to a value that cannot be addressed directly (e.g. a function return value or literal)
• you want to dereference a pointer with a default rather than writing an explicit nil check
• you need a typed nil or zero value in generic code

Prefer a direct expression when:

• the operation is a simple one-off and the intent is already clear
• the surrounding code already handles nil or zero cases explicitly

API reference

Pointer utilities

Function	Purpose
AsPtr	Returns a pointer to the given value
AsValue	Dereferences a pointer; returns the type's zero value if the pointer is nil
AsValueOr	Dereferences a pointer; returns a specified fallback value if the pointer is nil
Nil	Returns a typed nil pointer
IsNil	Returns true if the pointer is nil

Zero value utilities

Function	Purpose
Empty	Returns the zero value of a type
IsEmpty	Returns true if the value equals the type's zero value

Notes

• AsValue is shorthand for AsValueOr(ptr, Empty[T]()).
• IsEmpty requires a comparable type constraint; Empty works with any type.
• Nil and Empty are useful in generic code where you need a typed zero or nil without a concrete value.

Examples

Examples can be found in the test suite.