In Java, dealing with null values can be a real headache. Nulls can cause all sorts of problems in your code, from
NullPointerExceptions to convoluted if statements and error-prone logic. Fortunately, Java 8 introduced the Optional class, which offers a simple and powerful way to handle nulls and improve code quality. Optional is a container object that may or may not contain a non-null value and provides a range of practical methods for working with its contents. In this article, we'll explore the many use cases of Optional in Java and show you how to use this powerful class to write cleaner, more expressive, and more resilient code.
So let's deep dive into a few examples of uses of Optionals.
Avoiding NullPointerExceptions
One of the most common use cases of Optional is to avoid NullPointerExceptions. By wrapping a potentially null value in an Optional, you can safely access the value without risking a NullPointerException. For example, if you have a method that returns a value that might be null, you can return an Optional instead and then use Optional methods to access the value safely.