Should functions return null or an empty object?

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Returning null is usually the best idea if you intend to indicate that no data is available.

An empty object implies data has been returned, whereas returning null clearly indicates that nothing has been returned.

Additionally, returning a null will result in a null exception if you attempt to access members in the object, which can be useful for highlighting buggy code – attempting to access a member of nothing makes no sense. Accessing members of an empty object will not fail meaning bugs can go undiscovered.

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