`when` as an expression: what does it mean that it is exhaustive?

Deep dive

Expanding on the short answer — what usually matters in practice:

• Context (tags): kotlin, when, sealed, exhaustive
• JVM: memory (heap/stack), GC, and what drives latency.
• Contracts: equals/hashCode/toString, mutability and consequences.
• Performance: boxing, allocations, collections, inlining.
• Explain the "why", not just the "what" (intuition + consequences).
• Trade-offs: what you gain/lose (time, memory, complexity, risk).
• Edge cases: empty inputs, large inputs, invalid inputs, concurrency.

Examples

A tiny example (an explanation template):

// Example: discuss trade-offs for "`when`-as-an-expression:-what-does-it-mean-that-"
function explain() {
  // Start from the core idea:
  // `when` can return a value (it’s an expression). “Exhaustive” means all possible cases are 
}

Common pitfalls

• Too generic: no concrete trade-offs or examples.
• Mixing average-case and worst-case (e.g., complexity).
• Ignoring constraints: memory, concurrency, network/disk costs.

Interview follow-ups

• When would you choose an alternative and why?
• What production issues show up and how do you diagnose them?
• How would you test edge cases?