std/option

March 14, 2026 · View on GitHub

Option<T> represents an optional value: every Option is either Some and contains a value, or None. It is commonly used to handle the absence of a value without resorting to null pointers.

Overview

Safe: Encourages explicit handling of the None case.
Generic: Can wrap any type T.
Zero-cost: Compiles down to a simple struct with a boolean flag.
Convenient: Provides many utility methods for unwrapping and transforming values.

Usage

import "std/option.zc"

fn main() {
    let val = Option<int>::Some(10);
    
    if (val.is_some()) {
        println "Value is {val.unwrap()}";
    }
    
    let empty = Option<int>::None();
    let x = empty.unwrap_or(0);
}

Struct Definition

struct Option<T> {
    is_some: bool;
    val: T;
}

Methods

Construction

Method	Signature	Description
Some	`Option<T>::Some(v: T) -> Option<T>`	Creates a `Some` option containing `v`.
None	`Option<T>::None() -> Option<T>`	Creates a `None` option.

Query

Method	Signature	Description
is_some	`is_some(self) -> bool`	Returns `true` if the option is `Some`.
is_none	`is_none(self) -> bool`	Returns `true` if the option is `None`.

Extraction

Method	Signature	Description
unwrap	`unwrap(self) -> T`	Returns the contained value. Panics if `None`.
unwrap_ref	`unwrap_ref(self) -> T*`	Returns a pointer to the contained value. Panics if `None`.
unwrap_or	`unwrap_or(self, def: T) -> T`	Returns the contained value or `def`.
expect	`expect(self, msg: char*) -> T`	Returns the value or panics with `msg`.
or_else	`or_else(self, other: Option<T>) -> Option<T>`	Returns the option if `Some`, otherwise returns `other`.

Memory Management

Method	Signature	Description
forget	`forget(self)`	Zeroes out the internal value without calling destructors or freeing memory.