May I get Null pointer exception from this routine?

Question

I have written a below routine in Java, I need to know that the code is Null Pointer Safe or not:

public class TRM_Fields {
    public static String returnActualValue(String Staffing_Event,
            String CurrentValue, String PriorValue) {
        String returnValue;
        returnValue = null;

        if ("TRM".equalsIgnoreCase(Staffing_Event) && CurrentValue == null
                && PriorValue != null && !"".equalsIgnoreCase(PriorValue)) {
            returnValue = PriorValue;
        } else {
            returnValue = CurrentValue;
        }
        return returnValue;
    }
}

Any of the parameter Staffing_Event, CurrentValue and PriorValue may be null.

If it is not Null Pointer Safe what should I do to achieve that?

It seems to be safe, "".equalsIgnoreCase(null) do not throw a NullPointerException — NiziL
– NiziL, Commented Jun 19, 2014 at 9:08
Why are you still not simply referring to the documentation? I told you off for this over a year ago. — Lightness Races in Orbit
– Lightness Races in Orbit, Commented Aug 11, 2014 at 14:17

Duncan Jones · Accepted Answer · 2014-06-19 09:14:14Z

3

Your method is safe. You are correctly using "constantString".equals(someObject) to ensure a null-safe comparison.

Some other comments:

Your method is hard to read because you are using TitleCase for Java variables, when they should be camelCase.

You only have two possible return values. So you can simplify your method as follows:

public static String returnActualValue(String staffingEvent,
        String currentValue, String priorValue) {

    if ("TRM".equalsIgnoreCase(staffingEvent) && currentValue == null
            && priorValue != null && !"".equalsIgnoreCase(priorValue)) {
        return priorValue;
    } else {
        return currentValue;
    }
}

Note that the else construct isn't necessary, so it's a matter of style whether you include that structure or simply have return currentValue;.

edited Jun 19, 2014 at 9:14

answered Jun 19, 2014 at 9:09

Duncan Jones

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7 Comments

Abdul Manaf Over a year ago

Ok I will take care of camelCase.

Abdul Manaf Over a year ago

I am writing this code in Talend.So I need to return outside of the if and else otherwise it gives error.

Duncan Jones Over a year ago

@AbdulManaf Interesting. I'm not familiar with Talend - what error do you get, out of interest? It seems odd that semantically identical code should be rejected.

Abdul Manaf Over a year ago

This method must return a result of type String

Duncan Jones Over a year ago

@AbdulManaf Maybe you typed it wrong somehow? My code above compiles just fine with a standard Java compiler.

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