To infinity but not beyond To infinity but not beyond TL;DR: Use Infinity instead of None when looking for minimums TL;DR: Use Infinity instead of None when looking for minimums Infinity None Problems 😔 Accidental IFs
Wrong default
Bad polymorphism
Extra conditions
Hidden initialization
Wrong domain mapping
Misleading behavior
Unnecessary conditionals
Complex logic
Null checks
Error-prone code Accidental IFs Accidental IFs Wrong default Bad polymorphism polymorphism Extra conditions Hidden initialization Wrong domain mapping mapping Misleading behavior Unnecessary conditionals Complex logic Null checks Null checks Error-prone code Solutions 😃 Remove the Accidental IFs
Use infinite value (If your language supports it)
Remove None check
Respect math semantics  and consistency
Apply the null object pattern
Reduce boilerplate, simplifying your code
Use float('inf') as base case for minimums ♾️
Use float('-inf') as base case for maximums -♾️
Remove conditional branches Remove the Accidental IFs Accidental IFs Use infinite value (If your language supports it) infinite value Remove None check None check Respect math semantics  and consistency math semantics Apply the null object pattern null object Reduce boilerplate, simplifying your code Use float('inf') as base case for minimums ♾️ Use float('-inf') as base case for maximums -♾️ Remove conditional branches Refactorings ⚙️ https://hackernoon.com/refactoring-014-how-to-remove-if?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/refactoring-014-how-to-remove-if?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/code-refactoring-tips-no-015-remove-null?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/code-refactoring-tips-no-015-remove-null?embedable=true Context 💬 Problem 1: You want to find the greatest number in a list of positive numbers. You start with 0 and compare. An amazing Null Object. No Accidental IFs involved. Clean code. 👌 Null Object Problem 2: You want to find the lowest number in a list. Most beginners start with None and check "if current is None or x < current". None None You don’t need that. You can start with float("inf") ♾️. float("inf") It behaves-as-a a number. behaves-as-a You can compare, sort, and minimize it. This gives you simpler logic and polymorphic code. polymorphic The holy grail of behavior. Polymorphism is the deadliest enemy of accidental IFs. https://hackernoon.com/how-to-get-rid-of-annoying-ifs-forever-zuh3zlo?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/how-to-get-rid-of-annoying-ifs-forever-zuh3zlo?embedable=true Sample Code 📖 Wrong ❌ def find_minimum_price(products):
    min_price = None
    
    for product in products:
        if min_price is None:
            min_price = product.price
        elif product.price < min_price:
            min_price = product.price
    
    return min_price

def find_minimum_in_list(numbers):
    if not numbers:
        return None
    
    minimum = None
    for number in numbers:
        if minimum is None or number < minimum:
            minimum = number
    
    return minimum

# Usage leads to more None checks
prices = [10.5, 8.2, 15.0, 7.8]
min_price = find_minimum_in_list(prices)
if min_price is not None:
    print(f"Minimum price: ${min_price}")
else:
    print("No prices found") def find_minimum_price(products):
    min_price = None
    
    for product in products:
        if min_price is None:
            min_price = product.price
        elif product.price < min_price:
            min_price = product.price
    
    return min_price

def find_minimum_in_list(numbers):
    if not numbers:
        return None
    
    minimum = None
    for number in numbers:
        if minimum is None or number < minimum:
            minimum = number
    
    return minimum

# Usage leads to more None checks
prices = [10.5, 8.2, 15.0, 7.8]
min_price = find_minimum_in_list(prices)
if min_price is not None:
    print(f"Minimum price: ${min_price}")
else:
    print("No prices found") Right 👉 def find_minimum_price(products):
    min_price = float('inf')
        
    for product in products:
        if product.price < min_price:
            # This is an essential IF, you should not remove it
            min_price = product.price
            # No accidental IF here (if min_price is None:)
    
    return min_price if min_price != float('inf') else None

def find_minimum_in_list(numbers):
    minimum = float('inf')
    
    for number in numbers:
        if number < minimum:
            minimum = number
    
    return minimum if minimum != float('inf') else None

# Cleaner usage - polymorphic behavior
prices = [10.5, 8.2, 15.0, 7.8]
min_price = find_minimum_in_list(prices)
print(f"Minimum price: ${min_price}") def find_minimum_price(products):
    min_price = float('inf')
        
    for product in products:
        if product.price < min_price:
            # This is an essential IF, you should not remove it
            min_price = product.price
            # No accidental IF here (if min_price is None:)
    
    return min_price if min_price != float('inf') else None

def find_minimum_in_list(numbers):
    minimum = float('inf')
    
    for number in numbers:
        if number < minimum:
            minimum = number
    
    return minimum if minimum != float('inf') else None

# Cleaner usage - polymorphic behavior
prices = [10.5, 8.2, 15.0, 7.8]
min_price = find_minimum_in_list(prices)
print(f"Minimum price: ${min_price}") Detection 🔍 Semi-Automatic Semi-Automatic You can grep your codebase for None inside loops. None If you check against None before comparing values, you probably can smell it. None smell Tags 🏷️ Null Null Level 🔋 Beginner Beginner Why the Bijection Is Important 🗺️ In math, the identity element for finding a minimum is positive infinity. ♾️ When you use None, you break the MAPPER None MAPPER None is not a number. is not It does not behave as a number; it is not polymorphic with numbers. It is evil Null disguised as None. Null None You must then write special code to treat it. That breaks the bijection between your code and math. bijection When you use float("inf"), you stay close to the real concept. The code models the domain truthfully. AI Generation 🤖 AI models that generate loops often use None as the starting point. None They may include unnecessary checks. This typically occurs when the model attempts to mimic tutorials or is trained with bad code or overly simplified examples. AI Detection 🧲 AI can easily detect and fix this issue when you provide clear instructions. For example Use Infinity for minimum search initialization Use Infinity for minimum search initialization Infinity or Apply the null object pattern for mathematical operations. Apply the null object pattern for mathematical operations. Try Them! 🛠 Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Remember: AI Assistants make lots of mistakes Suggested Prompt: Use Infinity for minimum search initialization Suggested Prompt: Use Infinity for minimum search initialization Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions



ChatGPT

ChatGPT



Claude

Claude



Perplexity

Perplexity



Copilot

Copilot



Gemini

Gemini



DeepSeek

DeepSeek



Meta AI

Meta AI



Grok

Grok



Qwen

Qwen Without Proper Instructions

With Specific Instructions Without Proper Instructions Without Proper Instructions With Specific Instructions With Specific Instructions ChatGPT

ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT ChatGPT Claude

Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Claude Perplexity

Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Perplexity Copilot

Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Copilot Gemini

Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini Gemini DeepSeek

DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek DeepSeek Meta AI

Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Meta AI Grok

Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Grok Qwen

Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Qwen Conclusion 🏁 Zero is not the default for everything. When you want to find a minimum, you should start at infinity. This clarifies your code, removes conditionals, and provides a better mathematical bijection. provides a better mathematical bijection Stop treating None like a number. None is Null. And Null is bad. None None Null Null bad Infinity is polymorphic and is the null object for maximum math operations null object for maximum math operations Use it. Relations 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxv https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxv https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxvi https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-xxvi https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-iii-t7h3zkv https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-iii-t7h3zkv More Information 📕 https://hackernoon.com/how-to-get-rid-of-annoying-ifs-forever-zuh3zlo?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/how-to-get-rid-of-annoying-ifs-forever-zuh3zlo?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/null-the-billion-dollar-mistake-8t5z32d6?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/null-the-billion-dollar-mistake-8t5z32d6?embedable=true Disclaimer 📘 Code Smells are my opinion. opinion Credits 🙏 Photo by Cris Baron on Unsplash Cris Baron Unsplash Code should model the problem, not the solution Code should model the problem, not the solution Rich Hickey Rich Hickey https://hackernoon.com/400-thought-provoking-software-engineering-quotes?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/400-thought-provoking-software-engineering-quotes?embedable=true This article is part of the CodeSmell Series. https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true https://hackernoon.com/how-to-find-the-stinky-parts-of-your-code-part-i-xqz3evd?embedable=true

The code in this story is for educational purposes. The readers are solely responsible for whatever they build with it.

Replace AI References in Comments with Tests That Actually Work

Vibe Coding Explained in 5 Levels of Sophistication

Buy My Book

Share your ideas with me!

Use Infinity Instead of None in Python Loops

About Author

Comments

TOPICS

THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN

Related Stories

Untitled Story

10 Predictions About the Future of Finance

5 easy wins to refactor even the ugliest code

5 VERY common code smells and how to fix them

A Hacker Tried to Steal $566M by Exploiting a Code Smell, Here's How

Code Smell 240 - Dead Store Code

10 Predictions About the Future of Finance

5 easy wins to refactor even the ugliest code

5 VERY common code smells and how to fix them

A Hacker Tried to Steal $566M by Exploiting a Code Smell, Here's How

Code Smell 240 - Dead Store Code

Light-Mode

Classic

Newspaper

Dark-Mode

Neon Noir

Minty

HN StartUps