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iOS

Optionals

Why would a constant or variable not have a value? What is the point of a constant or variable not having a value?

2 Answers

Hi Jon,

Let's assume you have an app. Users can create an account in this app by filling out a special form. User can enter their First Name, Last Name, Email, Age, and Gender.

Let's say you want to make the First Name, Last Name, and Email fields required, but the Age and Gender fields optional. In this case, you would need variables to store Age and Gender, but if the user chooses not to fill out this information, then it would remain as a variable without any value until the user fills it out.

Hope this helps.

Great real life example. This helped a lot. Thanks!

Glad the explanation helped. Of course, this is a very simple example. There are many more complex example which you will discover as you start to build apps. Good luck, and keep asking questions :)