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

dimitarvp
Backend>Questions

Give me your quickest Kubernetes guides, please
As a part of my new job I’ll have to learn to manage a local k8s cluster. The tools used are microk8s, tilt and helm. I’ll appreciate an...
#kubernetes
25 1166 10
New
DevotionGeo
Backend>Questions

Can someone explain the -t option/flag in docker run command?
I know that -t flag is used along with -i flag for getting an interactive shell. But I cannot digest what the man page for docker run com...
#docker
7 10261 2
New
AstonJ
Backend>Questions

Erlang's not installing on macOS Big Sur "You are natively building Erlang/OTP for a later version of MacOSX than current version"
Just done a fresh install of macOS Big Sur and on installing Erlang I am getting: asdf install erlang 23.1.2 Configure failed. checking ...
#macos/erlang#big-sur#asdf
10 6212 8
New
Jsdr3398
Backend>Questions

Raxx routing doesn't seem to work
I’m trying to create a router where everything is in a collection of routes (similar to how I do my routes in expressjs). But it doesn’t ...
#raxx
8 1342 6
New
s2k
Backend>Questions

An ERB/bundler behaviour I don't understand
I have this code in a file that’s used to … render templates. require 'erb' require 'ostruct' MISSING_CONFIG_MARKER = :config_key_and_v...
/ruby
11 1405 4
New
TwistingTwists
Backend>Questions

Novice developer hoping to learn Elixir - any tips?
Hello Folks, I am a novice developer from India. Intending to learn Elixir and web apps (phoenix framework). What are things that I MUS...
/elixir#beginner#suggestion
53 1792 14
New
bsek43
Backend>Questions

Phoenix LiveView learning resources?
Hello everyone, I’ve started learning Elixir and Phoenix few months ago and while I mostly grasped Elixir’s functional concepts and Phoe...
/phoenix
10 1551 3
New
Manish_bose
Backend>Questions

Convert long data to wide data in SQL?
Can anyone help me how to convert a long data to wide data in SQL without using hard coding? Regards Manish
#sql
7 987 2
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
theodor
Backend>Questions

Updating Android OS is breaking login flow
I have this app where there are a bunch of users that cannot access their account anymore after they updated their Android device to Andr...
#android
0 3 0
New

Other popular topics Top

PragmaticBookshelf
General Dev>Learning Resources

The Pragmatic Programmer, 20th Anniversary Edition
Andy and Dave wrote this influential, classic book to help their clients create better software and rediscover the joy of coding. Almost ...
pragprog.com
#pragprog#published-book/book-the-pragmatic-programmer-20th-anniversary-edition
4 4782 0
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Backend>Learning Resources

Seven Languages in Seven Weeks
Ruby, Io, Prolog, Scala, Erlang, Clojure, Haskell. With Seven Languages in Seven Weeks, by Bruce A. Tate, you’ll go beyond the syntax—and...
pragprog.com
#pragprog/clojure/erlang/haskell/prolog/ruby/scala#published-book/book-seven-languages-in-seven-weeks
5 5730 1
New
AstonJ
General Dev>Hardware

Keyboard thock (sound)
I’ve been hearing quite a lot of comments relating to the sound of a keyboard, with one of the most desirable of these called ‘thock’, he...
/keyboards#mechanical-keyboards
14 11197 8
New
Margaret
General Dev>Dev Chat

PragProg’s Medium Posts
Hello everyone! This thread is to tell you about what authors from The Pragmatic Bookshelf are writing on Medium.
#pragprog#blog-post
1147 29994 760
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Community>In The Spotlight

Spotlight: Dmitry Zinoviev (Author) Interview and AMA!
Author Spotlight Dmitry Zinoviev @aqsaqal Today we’re putting our spotlight on Dmitry Zinoviev, author of Data Science Essentials in ...
#author-spotlight/python/book-complex-network-analysis-in-python/book-data-science-essentials-in-python/book-resourceful-code-reuse/book-pythonic-programming
33 5211 14
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Community>In The Spotlight

Spotlight: Erin Dees (Author) Interview and AMA!
Author Spotlight Erin Dees @undees Welcome to our new author spotlight! We had the pleasure of chatting with Erin Dees, co-author of ...
#author-spotlight/ruby/rails/book-effective-testing-with-rspec-3/book-seven-more-languages-in-seven-weeks/book-cucumber-recipes#rspec
24 4247 11
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Community>In The Spotlight

Spotlight: Peter Ullrich (Author) Interview and AMA!
Author Spotlight: Peter Ullrich @PJUllrich Data is at the core of every business, but it is useless if nobody can access and analyze ...
/elixir/phoenix/book-building-table-views-with-phoenix-liveview
72 4765 21
New
CommunityNews
General Dev>In The News

X can’t stop spread of explicit, fake AI Taylor Swift images
Will Swifties’ war on AI fakes spark a deepfake porn reckoning?
arstechnica.com
/swift
0 8379 0
New
AstonJ
AI>In The News

DeepSeek (671B) running on a cluster of 8 Mac Mini Pros with 64GB RAM each
This is cool! DEEPSEEK-V3 ON M4 MAC: BLAZING FAST INFERENCE ON APPLE SILICON We just witnessed something incredible: the largest open-s...
#ai#macs/deepseek
0 6695 1
New
PragmaticBookshelf
Backend>Learning Resources

MySQL 9 Essentials
A concise guide to MySQL 9 database administration, covering fundamental concepts, techniques, and best practices. Neil Smyth MySQL...
pragprog.com
#pragprog#published-book/mysql/book-mysql-9-essentials
2 4162 0
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