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Can Your System Even Represent an Invalid State?

Type: Structure
Category: Domain
Audience: People who think enums solve everything

🔍 First Principle

If your system can represent something invalid,
someone will.

⚠️ Common Leaks

  • User(status: Int) with 7 as a possible value
  • Task(state: String) that can be "completed" and "in-progress" simultaneously
  • Nullable<Boolean> → Why is your system unsure if something is true or false?

âś… Structural Fixes

  • Use enums, sealed types, and tagged unions with intent
  • Constructors should be unable to produce an invalid object
  • Optional? Only when meaningful absence is part of the domain
  • A domain model that “accepts everything” is just a list of hazards

🧠 What This Question Is Really About

This isn’t just “do you have validation.”
It’s: does your model forbid nonsense—or just quietly permit it?

You don’t need more tests.
You need fewer ways to go wrong.

âť“ FAQ

  • Q: Isn’t this over-design?
    A: No. It’s pre-accident design.

  • Q: Can’t I validate later?
    A: Sure—after someone’s already been harmed.