req.getParameter("doit").equal("good");   Is it impossible to write this line in the method? Without it, the program runs correctly. However whenever I write that line, it shows the error messages..     java.lang.NullPointerException at adhoc.FinePrint.doFilter(FinePrint.java:50)   Is there any way that I can check whether "doit" parameter is equal to "good"??
129
What are Null Pointer Exceptions (java.lang.NullPointerException) and what causes them?  What methods/tools can be used to determine the cause so that you stop the exception from causing the program to terminate prematurely?
100647
I have a shape layer with an attribute containing NULL values to which I would like to apply a filter for values different from NULL.    Using the available gui for such query construction, one would intuitively try  "obj_art" != NULL     Which means 'give me all the features with attribute "obj_art" different from NULL' (these count definitely more than 0). Testing this query delivers a strange result from my point of view:    So what I've learned so far is that I can achieve this by using  "obj_art" IS NOT NULL   The question is, what is the difference between != NULL and IS NOT NULL?
40567
I'm working on a project where i find i'm checking for the following in many, many places:  if(item.Rate == 0 || item.Rate == null) { }   more as a curiousity than anything, what's the best way to check for both cases?  I've added a helper method which is:  public static bool nz(object obj) {     var parsedInt = 0;     var parsed = int.TryParse(obj.ToString(), out parsedInt);     return IsNull(obj) || (parsed &amp;&amp; parsedInt == 0); }   Is there a better way?
13663
Assume you have some objects which have several fields they can be compared by:  public class Person {      private String firstName;     private String lastName;     private String age;      /* Constructors */      /* Methods */  }   So in this example, when you ask if:  a.compareTo(b) &gt; 0   you might be asking if a's last name comes before b's, or if a is older than b, etc...  What is the cleanest way to enable multiple comparison between these kinds of objects without adding unnecessary clutter or overhead?   java.lang.Comparable interface allows comparison by one field only Adding numerous compare methods (i.e. compareByFirstName(), compareByAge(), etc...) is cluttered in my opinion.   So what is the best way to go about this?
84865
What's the difference between eq, eql, equal and equalp, in Common Lisp?  I understand that some of them check types, some of them check across types an all that, but which is which?  When is one better to use than the others?
123269
Inspired by a StackOverflow question ().  Is there a DBMS that actually supports the = NULL syntax?
59699
Here is the code.  \documentclass{article} \begin{document} \directlua{tex.sprint(tostring(math.sin(math.pi)))} \\ \directlua{tex.sprint(tostring(math.tan(math.pi/2)))} \end{document}   I am expecting the answers as 0 and error . The code above gives some very small and big number. Can I get the expected answers by some modifications in code?
21733
EmployeeNumber = string.IsNullOrEmpty(employeeNumberTextBox.Text)     ? null     : Convert.ToInt32(employeeNumberTextBox.Text),  I often find myself wanting to do things like this (EmployeeNumber is a Nullable&lt;int&gt; as it's a property on a LINQ-to-SQL dbml object where the column allows NULL values).  Unfortunately, the compiler feels that  There is no implicit conversion between 'null' and 'int'  even though both types would be valid in an assignment operation to a nullable int on their own. Using the null coalescing operator is not an option as far as I can see because of the inline conversion that needs to happen on the .Text string if it's not null. As far as I know the only way to do this is to use an if statement and/or assign it in two steps.  In this particular case I find that very frustrating because I wanted to use the object initializer syntax and this assignment would be in the initialization block... Does anyone know a more elegant solution?
77222
I have a really simple Java class that effectively decorates a Map with input validation, with the obvious void set() and String get() methods.  I'd like to be able to effectively call those methods and handle return values and exceptions from outside the JVM, but still on the same machine Update: the caller I have in mind is not another JVM; thanks @Dave Ray  My implementation considerations are typical    performance ease of implementation and maintenance (simplicity?) reliability flexibility (i.e. can I call from a remote machine, etc.)   Is there a 'right way?' If not, what are my options, and what are the pro/cons for each?  (Stuff people have actually done and can provide real-life feedback on would be great!)
58028
I want to do something like this :  myYear = record.GetValueOrNull&lt;int?&gt;("myYear"),   Notice the nullable type as the generic parameter.   Since the GetValueOrNull function could return null my first attempt was this:   public static T GetValueOrNull&lt;T&gt;(this DbDataRecord reader, string columnName)   where T : class {     object columnValue = reader[columnName];      if (!(columnValue is DBNull))     {         return (T)columnValue;     }     return null; }   But the error I'm getting now is:     The type 'int?' must be a reference type in order to use it as parameter 'T' in the generic type or method   Right! Nullable&lt;int&gt; is a struct! So I tried changing the class constraint to a struct constraint (and as a side effect can't return null any more):  public static T GetValueOrNull&lt;T&gt;(this DbDataRecord reader, string columnName)   where T : struct   Now the assignment:  myYear = record.GetValueOrNull&lt;int?&gt;("myYear");   Gives the following error:     The type 'int?' must be a non-nullable value type in order to use it as parameter 'T' in the generic type or method   Is specifying a nullable type as a generic parameter at all possible?
57448
So, I've been spending considerable more time on SO recently than I normally have, and one thing that I've noticed is quite a few people saying stuff like "There's a Null Pointer Error in this block of code, please help me fix it", with a huge amount of code posted, and no real clue as to where the NPE is. So my question is, what can we do to accomplish 2 goals?   Help the person asking the question become a better programmer. Help them to solve their problems.
13332
I am trying to use a  as input and then creating a query with it - so I need a .    I was surprised to find that it couldn't do the conversion implicitly or explicitly - but I don't even know how I would do this, as the Java API is still fairly new to me.
37382
I'm a C++ guy learning Java. I'm reading Effective Java and something confused me. It says never to write code like this:  String s = new String("silly");   Because it creates unnecessary String objects. But instead it should be written like this:  String s = "No longer silly";   Ok fine so far...However, given this class:  public final class CaseInsensitiveString {     private String s;     public CaseInsensitiveString(String s) {         if (s == null) {             throw new NullPointerException();         }         this.s = s;     }     :     : }  CaseInsensitiveString cis = new CaseInsensitiveString("Polish"); String s = "polish";    Why is the first statement ok? Shouldn't it be   CaseInsensitiveString cis = "Polish"; How do I make CaseInsensitiveString behave like String so the above statement is OK (with and without extending String)? What is it about String that makes it OK to just be able to pass it a literal like that? From my understanding there is no "copy constructor" concept in Java?
12375
I have a simple setter method for a property and null is not appropriate for this particular property. I have always been torn in this situation: should I throw an , or a ? From the javadocs, both seem appropriate. Is there some kind of an understood standard?  Or is this just one of those things that you should do whatever you prefer and both are really correct?
56868
Can I pass a property as an "out" or "ref" parameter if not then why not?   e.g.  Person p = new Person();    . . .  public void Test(out p.Name);
16290
This is a canonical question and answer developed by the community to help address common questions. If you've been directed here, or your question has been closed as a duplicate, please look through the resources here and use them to shape more specific questions. To browse all canonical questions and answers, navigate to the  tag. This question and answer is owned by the community! If you can improve it and make it more useful, you're welcome to edit it. I am building a trigger, a unit test, or other Apex code. I'm working with sObject records, and trying to access related record information. For example, I might have a structure like this: Account a = new Account(Name = 'Test'); insert a;  Opportunity o = new Opportunity(Name = 'Donation', AccountId = a.Id); insert o;  System.assertEquals(o.Account.Name, 'Test', 'Correct Account associated'); // Assertion fails!  Or, in a trigger, I might be aiming for something like this: trigger ContactTrigger on Contact (after insert) {     for (Contact c : Trigger.new) {         if (c.Account.Name == 'Test') {             // Take some action here         }      } }  Why doesn't this work? Why am I getting null values, or NullPointerExceptions?
31237
How can I do this fast?  Sure I can do this:  static bool ByteArrayCompare(byte[] a1, byte[] a2) {     if (a1.Length != a2.Length)         return false;      for (int i=0; i&lt;a1.Length; i++)         if (a1[i]!=a2[i])             return false;      return true; }   But I'm looking for either a  function or some highly optimized proven way to do this.  java.util.Arrays.equals((sbyte[])(Array)a1, (sbyte[])(Array)a2);   works nicely, but it doesn't look like that would work for x64.  Note my super-fast answer .