check for null using conditional operators in java

You can create method like this:

public static void applyIfNotEmpty(Consumer<String> consumer, String value) {
    if (!StringUtils.isEmpty(value)) {
        consumer.accept(value);
    }
}

And then use it in such way:

applyIfNotEmpty(v -> tbl.setVal(v.charAt(0)), line[9]);

You could have a function like

private void setValueInTbl(String input) {
  if (!StringUtils.isEmpty(input) {
    tbl.setVal(input.charAt(0));
  }
}

Then you could call it like this

setValueInTbl(line[9]);

Also, the ternary operator is not ideal because you need two values to give it after evaluation.

The clever way to go about this is to create a generic method like you said. However, there is a difference between a null variable and an empty variable.

To check null variables you are better off throwing an NPE.

Also, have a look at this link if you are checking elements in a list, it is an elegant solution. Null check in an enhanced for loop

Other methods that you could use to achieve this are:

Validate.notNull(variable)
Validate.notEmpty(variable) - Depending on what you really want to check for.

These validations will throw an IllegalArgumentException based on their condition.

Found this as well... worth a read! Java: How to check for null pointers efficiently

Why not create a method to deal with that generally, not just for String and notEmpty:

public static <T> void consumeIf(Consumer<T> consumer, T value, Predicate<T> predicate) {
    Optional.ofNullable(value).filter(predicate).ifPresent(consumer);
}