NullPointerExceptions, or NPEs for short, are a common source of frustration for Java developers. They occur when an attempt is made to access an object or invoke a method on an object that is null
.
Even though Java 14 introduced the NullPointerException.getMessage()
method to provide more detailed information about the cause of the NPE, preventing these exceptions in the first place is always the best approach. In this article, we'll explore strategies to avoid NullPointerExceptions when working with streams in Java and try to answer “How to avoid a NullPointerException while using stream API?”
If you don’t have a medium membership, you can use this link to reach the article without a paywall.
Understanding the Stream Paradigm
Before we dive into specific techniques for avoiding NPEs, it’s essential to understand how streams work in Java. Streams were introduced in Java 8 as a way to process sequences of data in a functional and declarative…