Experienced Developers Use These 7 Java Optional Tips to Remove Code Clutter

Here are the 7 most common Optional cases of abuse I encounter

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“I have coworkers that don’t know Optional exists.” — one Java developer on Reddit.

Do you see Optional “readability” improvements? Do you need to constantly explain Optional usage? Do you see Optional abuse?

Most developers still don’t know what’s Optional correct usage. Some don’t even know it exists.

Here are the 7 examples of Optional abuse and what you can do about them.

1. Don’t use Optional for null checks

Developers use Optional instead of a null check. Optional only adds overhead. And there’s no benefit to doing this.

An Optional mistake was to add isPresent and get method. That's what even Brian says is a mistake. Developers think get must work as expected. Then they add isPresent and you're back to null checks again.

Developers don’t understand why Optional exists.

Optional doesn’t fix your null checks. Optional should represent the absence of value.

They’re keen to use Optional whenever possible.