mathematical representation of absence of a value
In mathematics, the word null (from German: null meaning "zero", which is from Latin: nullus meaning "none") is often associated with the concept of zero, or with the concept of nothing. It … Wikipedia
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org β€Ί wiki β€Ί Null_(mathematics)
Null (mathematics) - Wikipedia
February 4, 2026 - In mathematics, the word null (from German: null meaning "zero", which is from Latin: nullus meaning "none") is often associated with the concept of zero, or with the concept of nothing. It is used in varying contexts from "having zero members in a set" (e.g., null set) to "having a value of ...
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Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com β€Ί dictionary β€Ί null
NULL Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
February 24, 2026 - Null often pops up in legal and scientific contexts; it was originally used in Scottish law and still carries the meaning "having no legal or binding force," especially in the phrase "null and void."
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Reddit
reddit.com β€Ί r/discordapp β€Ί what does β€œnull” mean and why is it here
r/discordapp on Reddit: What does β€œnull” mean and why is it here
March 21, 2023 - "null" or "undefined" is the code equivelent of an empty or broken value (i.e. text is accidentally added to a number or it was unreachable by your app). Updating or just reloading your app might fix it.
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Reddit
reddit.com β€Ί r/theydidthemath β€Ί [request] is null a number?
r/theydidthemath on Reddit: [request] is null a number?
February 5, 2021 - Meaningful obviously is a bit subjective here, so to clarify I use that in the informal sense to distinguish the legit math from the bullshit numerology. ... Well, according to the dictionary, null is "a zero" or "having or associated with the ...
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Biztory
biztory.com β€Ί blog β€Ί 7-things-you-should-know-about-null-values
7 Things to know about NULL values - Biztory | Biztory
October 25, 2025 - Some people have a nasty tendency to impute the mean or an arbitrary value (e.g. 99, 100, 0, -1) directly into the database. If a value appears suspiciously often or seems impossible; it might be an attempt to input NULL values.
Top answer
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17

Is null evaluated to 0 and undefined to NaN on arithmetic expressions? Is it safe or correct to assume this?

Yes, it is. An "arithmetic expression" would use the ToNumber operation:

 Argument Type | Result
 --------------+--------
 Undefined     | NaN
 Null          | +0
 …             |

It is used in the following "arithmetic" expressions:

  • prefix/postfix increment and decrement
  • the unary + and - operators
  • the + operator if none of the two arguments is a string
  • subtraction, multiplication, division and modulo operation
  • relational operators if not both arguments are strings

It is not used by the equality operators, so null == 0 is false (and null !== 0 anyway)!

2 of 3
5

It seems safe to assume so since, in an arithmetic expression (e.g. addition), the method ToNumber would be called on it, evaluating NaN and +0 from undefined and null respectively:

                     To Number Conversions
╔═══════════════╦════════════════════════════════════════════╗
β•‘ Argument Type β•‘                   Result                   β•‘
╠═══════════════╬════════════════════════════════════════════╣
β•‘ Undefined     β•‘ NaN                                        β•‘
β•‘               β•‘                                            β•‘
β•‘ Null          β•‘ +0                                         β•‘
β•‘               β•‘                                            β•‘
β•‘ Boolean       β•‘ The result is 1 if the argument is true.   β•‘
β•‘               β•‘ The result is +0 if the argument is false. β•‘
β•‘               β•‘                                            β•‘
β•‘ Number        β•‘ The result equals the input argument (no   β•‘
β•‘               β•‘ conversion).                               β•‘
β•‘               β•‘                                            β•‘
β•‘ String        β•‘ See grammar and note below.                β•‘
β•‘               β•‘                                            β•‘
β•‘ Object        β•‘ Apply the following steps:                 β•‘
β•‘               β•‘   1. Let primValue be ToPrimitive(input    β•‘
β•‘               β•‘      argument, hint Number).               β•‘
β•‘               β•‘   2. Return ToNumber(primValue).           β•‘
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ECMAScript Language Specification - ECMA-262 Edition 5.1

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Springer
link.springer.com β€Ί home β€Ί inside relational databases with examples in access β€Ί chapter
What does null mean? | Springer Nature Link
If, for example, a field is supposed to contain the phone number of a friend but you don’t know the phone number, you don’t enter any data. The field is then said to contain a null value. This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access. ... Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF. Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF. ... Discover the latest articles, books and news in related subjects, suggested using machine learning. ... (2007). What does null mean?.
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Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org β€Ί dictionary β€Ί english β€Ί null
NULL | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
1 week ago - NULL definition: 1. having no legal force: 2. with no value or effect: 3. (of a set or matrix) containing nothing…. Learn more.
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Dictionary.com
dictionary.com β€Ί browse β€Ί null
NULL Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
Null means having no value; in other words null is zero, like if you put so little sugar in your coffee that it’s practically null. Null also means invalid, or having no binding force. From the Latin nullus, meaning "not any," poor, powerless null is not actually there at all.
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freeCodeCamp
freecodecamp.org β€Ί news β€Ί a-quick-and-thorough-guide-to-null-what-it-is-and-how-you-should-use-it-d170cea62840
A quick and thorough guide to β€˜null’: what it is, and how you should use it
June 12, 2018 - So, variable name doesn't point to "Bob" anymore. The value 0 (all bits at zero) is a typical value used in memory to denote null. It means that there is no value associated with name.
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Quora
quora.com β€Ί What-is-the-meaning-of-null-1
What is the meaning of null? - Quora
It can have different meaning in different fields of programming. From wikipedia: * Null (SQL) (or NULL), a special marker and keyword in SQL indicating that something has no value * Null character, the zero-valued ASCII character, also des...
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Khoury College of Computer Sciences
khoury.northeastern.edu β€Ί home β€Ί kenb β€Ί MeaningOfNull.html
The Meaning of Null in Databases and Programming Languages
On such a form, NULL could also mean that one does not wish to answer the question, one does not know the answer, one has not yet answered the question, or one neglected to answer the question. The field value cannot be determined due to an exception. For example, dividing NULL by 0 is clearly an exception since division by zero is never defined for any number...
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Apple Community
discussions.apple.com β€Ί thread β€Ί 253978204
Null in my contact - Apple Community
June 18, 2022 - Simple press "Edit" in the top right corner, then select the label for the number, which will be just to the left of it. You can then change it to whatever you like. ... The value 'null' is used whenever the device cannot find an expected value. In this case, it most likely means that it cannot ...
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Quora
quora.com β€Ί What-does-null-mean-in-shipping-packages-I-tried-checking-the-tracking-and-null-pooped-up
What does null mean in shipping packages? I tried checking the tracking and null pooped up. - Quora
Contact the carrier if the tracking remains null after 48 hours; provide shipment reference, dates, and origin/destination. If you need a quick assessment: null usually means "no status available yet" rather than "lost," but persistent nulls ...
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org β€Ί wiki β€Ί Null
Null - Wikipedia
February 23, 2026 - Look up Null, null, a-null, nΓΊll, or Nullus in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Null (SQL) (or NULL), a special marker and keyword in SQL indicating that a data value does not exist, is not known, or is missing. Null character, the zero-valued ASCII character, also designated by NUL, often ...
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Wiktionary
en.wiktionary.org β€Ί wiki β€Ί null
null - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
(cardinal number) zero; nil; nought; (tennis) love (integer number between βˆ’1 and 1, denoting no quantity at all) Null mal null ist null.
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MDN Web Docs
developer.mozilla.org β€Ί en-US β€Ί docs β€Ί Glossary β€Ί Null
Null - Glossary - MDN Web Docs
In computer science, a null value represents a reference that points, generally intentionally, to a nonexistent or invalid object or address. The meaning of a null reference varies among language implementations.
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Zendesk help
support.zendesk.com β€Ί hc β€Ί en-us β€Ί articles β€Ί 4408830322714-Why-am-I-seeing-calls-with-a-NULL-call-group-on-my-reports
Why am I seeing calls with a NULL call group on my reports? – Zendesk help
QuestionWhat does the NULL call group represent in the Talk dashboard?AnswerThe NULL call group means that the call is not assigned to an agent group. This can happen for a number of reasons:For in...
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Nine Inch Nails
nin.wiki β€Ί Null_numbers
Nine Inch Nails - Null numbers | nin.wiki
March 6, 2026 - Null numbers are the numbers assigned to soundtracks in the order that they are released, in the style of Nine Inch Nails' "Halo numbers". They are so named because they are released or published via The Null Corporation.