A Reference that points to nothing is the absence of information. There is literally nothing (read: no information) behind the pointer.
For a database query neither null/Null nor an exception are the right tool. An empty List would be. If you query for exactly one Object (like with the id), null/Null can be an option. So could an Exception, as if you have an ID, there better be an object for this. This depends on the context.
Problem is: Null/null returns are also often misused. It is still dangerous and clutters code. For me it is a 'Do not use lightly'. I have to have a reason for using something so dangerous.
True, if you're selecting a list of object, an empty list (or an IEnumerable) would be the obvious choice of what to return when you find nothing that matches the search criteria. For a search of a single object, I see no problem with null. I guess we can simply agree to disagree.
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A Reference that points to nothing is the absence of information. There is literally nothing (read: no information) behind the pointer.
For a database query neither null/Null nor an exception are the right tool. An empty List would be. If you query for exactly one Object (like with the id), null/Null can be an option. So could an Exception, as if you have an ID, there better be an object for this. This depends on the context.
Problem is: Null/null returns are also often misused. It is still dangerous and clutters code. For me it is a 'Do not use lightly'. I have to have a reason for using something so dangerous.
True, if you're selecting a list of object, an empty list (or an IEnumerable) would be the obvious choice of what to return when you find nothing that matches the search criteria. For a search of a single object, I see no problem with null. I guess we can simply agree to disagree.