What is the Never return typ...

The Never return type in Swift is a special type that indicates a function will never return to its caller. This is used to inform the compiler that the function will either terminate the program, enter an infinite loop, or otherwise not complete in a way that allows execution to continue past the function call. The Never type is defined as an enum with no cases, making it impossible to instantiate[1][3][5][6].

When to Use Never Over Void

1. Functions That Do Not Return Normally:

   • Use Never for functions that are designed to terminate the program or enter an infinite loop. Examples include functions like fatalError(), exit(), and preconditionFailure(), which cause the program to crash or terminate[3][5][6][17].
   • Example:
     swift Copy

     func crashAndBurn() -> Never {
         fatalError("Something very, very bad happened")
     }

2. Compiler Optimization:

   • Using Never allows the compiler to optimize the code by understanding that certain code paths are unreachable. This can help in eliminating dead code and improving the overall efficiency of the program[5][6].

3. Explicitly Indicating Non-Returning Functions:

   • When you want to make it clear to other developers that a function will not return, using Never is more explicit than Void. This can improve code readability and maintainability[1][3][5].

Differences Between Never and Void

• Void:

  • Void is a type alias for an empty tuple (). It indicates that a function does not return a meaningful value but does return control to the caller[1][10][11][18].
  • Example:
    swift Copy

    func doSomething() -> Void {
        // Perform some action
    }

• Never:

  • Never indicates that a function will not return control to the caller at all. It is used for functions that either terminate the program or enter an infinite loop[1][3][5][6][17].
  • Example:
    swift Copy

    func terminateApp() -> Never {
        exit(0)
    }

Practical Examples

• Using Void:
  swift Copy

  func logM...