Optional types in Swift

Quick overview of optional types...

In Swift, Optinal is an Enumeration type consisting of two cases: none and some(Wrapped). Wrapped parameter represents the underlying value. none case is when there is no value.

Code example:

enum Optional {
    case none
    case some(Wrapped)
}

let optonalNumber: Int? = 5

switch optionalNumber {
    case none:
        break
    case some(let number):
        print(number)
}

To summerize, optinal in Swift in an enumeration, consisting of two cases: .none and .some. Provides a safe way and expressive way of handling the types that might not have a value. They are integral part of the Swift Programming Language that ensures a safe and readable code by explicitly handling absense of values.

They are especially useful when dealing with types that might not have a value available at a given time. By using optionals, Swift enforces good practices of handling with a missing value.

The main reason that the optinals are there is to prevent null-pointer exceptions (crashes) at runtime. Optionals are providing code clarity to other developers, because they can also know that they are dealing with variables or properties that may be missing a value at some point.