My preferred way of modelling this would probably be something like
role: "admin" | "regular" | "logged-out"
or
type Role = "admin" | "regular";
role: Role | null
depending on whether being logged out is a state on the same level as being a logged-in (non-)admin. In a language like Rust,
enum Role {Admin, Regular}
instead of just using strings.
I wouldn't consider performance here unless it clearly mattered, certainly not enough to use
role: number
,
which is just about the least type-safe solution possible. Perhaps
role: typeof ADMIN | typeof REGULAR | typeof LOGGED_OUT
with appropriately defined constants might be okay, though.
Disclaimer: neither a professional programmer nor someone who regularly writes TypeScript as of now.
I was thinking of the three legal states as:
null
or{isAdmin: false, isLoggedIn: false}
)false
or{isAdmin: false, isLoggedIn: true}
)true
or{isAdmin: true, isLoggedIn: true}
)which leaves
{isAdmin: true, isLoggedIn: false}
as an invalid, nonsensical state. (How would you know the user's an admin if they're not logged in?) Of course, in a different context, all four states could potentially be distinctly meaningful.