Backend>Questions

Java equals() selection

sona11

sona11

Java equals() selection

In Java, if I try to do.equals() on a null string, a null pointer error is issued. I’m wondering whether I can perform the following if I’m attempting to compare if a string is equal to a constant string:
MY CONSTANT STRING.equals(aStringVariable)
I’m sure it’ll work, but is this simply extremely bad code?
This is a common Java idiom known colloquially as a Yoda condition. Personally, I prefer to handle the null situation directly, but the Yoda method is widely used, and any competent Java programmer should quickly grasp what is going on. How should I proceed?

3 comments
/java
4 1150 3

Most Liked

faust

faust

I think that it is important to discuss with your team how the majority feels about this kind of situation and create a guideline for the project.

Anyway, I personally prefer to use Enums instead of this kind of constant.

1
Post #3
finner

finner

Hi @sona11,
If you are using Java8 (or ablove) you can use Optional - for example:

boolean eq = Optional.ofNullable(aStringVariable)
            .map(s -> s.equals(MY_CONSTANT_STRING))
            .orElse(false);

And when the aStringValue is null there will no NullPointerException

I hope I understood the question correctly, does that help?

1
Post #4
sona11

sona11

Thanks you and yes it does help.

1
Post #5

Where Next?

View thread on forum
java
Home Backend>Questions
/java
4 1150 3
Last post

Popular Backend topics Top

The_Exile
Backend>Questions

Not fully understanding the code in the example in "Learn to Program"
/ruby/book-learn-to-program-2nd-edition
19 1501 13
New
wolf4earth
Backend>Questions

AWS: Best practices implementing fan-out with SNS and SQS
At work we plan to replace a totally overkill Kafka instance with a combination of SNS and SQS. I don’t want to get into a discussion on ...
#aws#aws-sns#aws-sqs#terraform
3 1027 0
New
Jsdr3398
Backend>Questions

No-setup databases for elixir?
Are there any databases that require no setup (can be shipped in a small zip together with the project)?
/elixir#database
6 1378 5
New
brennan
Backend>Questions

When should you use Phoenix LiveView over Phoenix Channels?
When should you use Phoenix LiveView over Phoenix Channels?
/elixir/phoenix#liveview
8 1356 2
New
Fl4m3Ph03n1x
Backend>Questions

Elixir Witchcraft IO monad?
Background I have recently been delving into more functional code. My objective right now is to get something similar to the IO Monad (in...
/elixir#monads
3 1158 1
New
Fl4m3Ph03n1x
Backend>Questions

Is there a way to have 2 icons when using elixir-desktop?
Background I have a personal project that is an elixir desktop application for PC Windows. It works pretty well, but now I want to give i...
/elixir#desktop
2 1082 1
New
sona11
Backend>Questions

In Couchbase, how do you change the datatype of an attribute from String to Array?
I’m having a difficulty. I want to modify an attribute’s data type from String to Array. { “id”: “trn:tarb:tradingpartner:uuid:00000...
/java
2 843 0
New
Fl4m3Ph03n1x
Backend>Questions

How to extract a tarball?
Background I have a release file inside a tarball. However I want the final release to have some additional files and to move things aro...
/elixir
2 816 1
New
Fl4m3Ph03n1x
Backend>Questions

Dialyzer cannot recognize types from dependencies
Background I have an umbrella app where I use a dependecy called ETS. This dependency has a type called set_options that I use in some of...
/elixir#dialyzer
2 858 1
New
jaeyson
Backend>Questions

Clarifications with the terms regarding augmenting AI in your code
Hi! I have clarifications (please correct me, as I mostly mix/confuse this details) with the following: The term RAG here where it read...
#question
1 545 0
New

Other popular topics Top

PragmaticBookshelf
Backend>Learning Resources

Programming Machine Learning
Machine learning can be intimidating, with its reliance on math and algorithms that most programmers don't encounter in their regular wor...
pragprog.com
#pragprog#ai/python#published-book/book-programming-machine-learning#math#algorithms
6 5350 3
New
PragmaticBookshelf
General Dev>Learning Resources

Seven More Languages in Seven Weeks
Learn from the award-winning programming series that inspired the Elixir language, and go on a step-by-step journey through the most impo...
pragprog.com
#pragprog/elixir/julia/lua#published-book#factor/elm#minikanren/idris/book-seven-more-languages-in-seven-weeks
4 5862 0
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Backend>Learning Resources

Testing Elixir
Write Elixir tests that you can be proud of. Dive into Elixir’s test philosophy and gain mastery over the terminology and concepts that u...
pragprog.com
#pragprog/elixir#published-book/book-testing-elixir
33 5004 8
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Game Dev>Learning Resources

Hands-on Rust: Effective Learning through 2D Game Development and Play
Rust is an exciting new programming language combining the power of C with memory safety, fearless concurrency, and productivity boosters...
pragprog.com
#pragprog/rust#published-book/book-hands-on-rust
117 10879 30
New
DevotionGeo
General Dev>Code Editors

Dendron: a personal knowledge management tool on top of VSCode
/vscode#visual-studio-code
30 7372 9
New
Exadra37
Linux>Chat

RancherOS is in end of life
Oh just spent so much time on this to discover now that RancherOS is in end of life but Rancher is refusing to mark the Github repo as su...
#linux#rancheros
10 6358 6
New
husaindevelop
Android>Questions

Clipboard readtext not working in android webview
Inside our android webview app, we are trying to paste the copied content from another app eg (notes) using navigator.clipboard.readtext ...
#android#clipboard
1 5651 0
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Backend>Learning Resources

Ash Framework
Explore the power of Ash Framework by modeling and building the domain for a real-world web application. Rebecca Le @sevenseacat and ...
pragprog.com
#pragprog/elixir#published-book/ash/book-ash-framework
15 7555 9
New
AstonJ
AI>Chat

Post your DeepSeek results
Curious what kind of results others are getting, I think actually prefer the 7B model to the 32B model, not only is it faster but the qua...
/deepseek
15 4275 15
New
mindriot
General Dev>Reviews

Keyboard Review: UHK60V2 vs Defy vs Voyager vs Glove80 vs Svalboard
Ok, well here are some thoughts and opinions on some of the ergonomic keyboards I have, I guess like mini review of each that I use enoug...
/keyboards#uhk60v2#defy#voyager#glove80#svalboard
5 5681 7
New
Back to top

Sponsor Spotlight

Manning

Develop your skills with books, videos, and courses.

Latest in Java

Java Portal ❯

Backend>Questions

Backend Questions ❯

Latest on Devtalk

Devtalk ❯

We ❤️ helpful members!

We reward our most helpful members via our MOTM scheme - by giving away a whopping 25 books per year!

Member of the Month

Devtalk Sponsors

Pragmatic Bookshelf

Practical resources that improve the lives of professional developers.

Erlang Solutions

We build trusted fault-tolerant systems that scale to billions of users.

Honeybadger

Real-time error tracking, performance insights, and observability for devs.

EEF

Supporting innovation across the BEAM ecosystem.

coders51

We build reliable cloud platforms for business-critical systems.

Manning Publications

Develop your skills with books, videos, and courses.

AppSignal

Catch errors, track performance, monitor hosts and more.

WyeWorks

Enabling companies to succeed by building software people love.

Pragmatic Studio

Courses that move you from confusion to "Aha, now I get it!"

Linux New Media

Publishing Linux Magazine, ADMIN, and MakerSpace for 25+ years.

View all our sponsors ❯

Categories:

Sub Categories:

Popular Portals

Devtalk Sponsors

Pragmatic Bookshelf

Practical resources that improve the lives of professional developers.

Erlang Solutions

We build trusted fault-tolerant systems that scale to billions of users.

Honeybadger

Real-time error tracking, performance insights, and observability for devs.

EEF

Supporting innovation across the BEAM ecosystem.

coders51

We build reliable cloud platforms for business-critical systems.

Manning Publications

Develop your skills with books, videos, and courses.

AppSignal

Catch errors, track performance, monitor hosts and more.

WyeWorks

Enabling companies to succeed by building software people love.

Pragmatic Studio

Courses that move you from confusion to "Aha, now I get it!"

Linux New Media

Publishing Linux Magazine, ADMIN, and MakerSpace for 25+ years.

View all our sponsors ❯

We're in Beta

About us Mission Statement See our Roadmap