Exclusive Or Properties

What it does

This skill allows you to apply the exclusive-or (XOR) principle when defining TypeScript properties. It enables a set of properties to be present, but only one can have a value at any given time, ensuring data integrity and preventing conflicting states within your code. This is particularly useful for representing mutually exclusive options or configurations.

When to use it

• Representing Mutually Exclusive Options: When an object has several possible settings where only one can be active (e.g., a payment method with 'credit_card', 'paypal', and 'bank_transfer').
• Configuration Management: Defining configuration options where certain features are incompatible and cannot be enabled simultaneously.
• State Machines: Modeling states in a state machine where transitions between states enforce that only one state is active at a time.

Key capabilities

• Enforces exclusive property values.
• Provides type safety for mutually exclusive properties.
• Reduces potential errors related to conflicting configurations.

Example prompts

• "Apply XOR constraints to the paymentMethod object, ensuring only one of 'credit_card', 'paypal', or 'bank_transfer' can have a value."
• "Create a configuration with exclusive options for feature flags A and B; only one can be true at a time."
• "Define a state machine where the state property can only be 'idle', 'loading', or 'error' simultaneously."

Tips & gotchas

This skill requires a good understanding of TypeScript types and generics. Incorrectly defining the properties involved in the XOR relationship can lead to unexpected behavior, so careful consideration is needed during implementation.