# nil_sentinel_pattern

## v1

**Why this iteration:** Lifted verbatim from `conductor/code_styleguides/error_handling.md` §"The 5 Patterns" #1 (lines 23-47).
This is the baseline encoding — the convention-style description with code example currently in production.
Future variants will test alternative encodings (rationale-first, before/after, tabular) against this baseline.
**Source:** `conductor/code_styleguides/error_handling.md:23-47`

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**Lifted:** 2026-07-02 (Phase 1 harvest by Tier 3 worker; user directive 2026-07-02 moved the header into this meta file)