Why I use if-else with equals not working?

Question

Why does setText() show "N/A" when Info2 = ""? Why does data appear when Info2 has data but when Info2 does not have data my setText() call shows blank, not "N/A"?

JSON CODE >> {"AirlineInfoResult":{"name":"Malaysian Airlines System","shortname":""}}

String Info2 = ... do something util receive result from shortname

if(Info2.equals("")) {
    shortname.setText("N/A");
}
else if(!Info2.equals("")) {
    shortname.setText(Info2);
}

possible duplicate of [How do I compare strings in Java?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/513832/how-do-i-compare-strings-in-java) — Patricia Shanahan, Mar 31 '14 at 15:10
@PatriciaShanahan Actually it's not duplicate of that question, read it again. — Maroun, Mar 31 '14 at 15:11
Improvement: let variable names start with a lowercase letter. — bobbel, Mar 31 '14 at 15:12
@A.S. - Might need to switch those conditions (I believe if `Info2 == null` that will result in an NPE) — femtoRgon, Mar 31 '14 at 15:12
@PatriciaShanahan How did you retract it? :/ I never saw that option. — Maroun, Mar 31 '14 at 15:12
@A.S. the second part of your statement will never be true, as if it was, you will be getting a nullpointerException on the first part. — Garis M Suero, Mar 31 '14 at 15:13
@MarounMaroun Clicked close again. That offered a "retract close vote" option. — Patricia Shanahan, Mar 31 '14 at 15:13
@PatriciaShanahan Must be a new feature.. Or I was high from the first day on SO. — Maroun, Mar 31 '14 at 15:14
By the way, you have a [`TextUtils`](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/text/TextUtils.html) class which has this `isEmpty` method that receives a `CharSequence` e.g. a `String`... — Luiggi Mendoza, Mar 31 '14 at 15:21

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 31 '14 at 15:11

1

shortname.setText((Info2 == null) || Info2.isEmpty()) ? "N/A" : Info2);

or,

shortname.setText("".equals(Info2) ? "N/A" : Info2);

answered Mar 31 '14 at 15:11

d.moncada

16,900
5
53
82

You should do null check first... – Luiggi Mendoza Mar 31 '14 at 15:11
1

`(Info2 == null)` is unreachable since an exception will be thrown before you reach it if `Info2` is `null`. – Maroun Mar 31 '14 at 15:12
thanks for the quick response.. wasn't thinking. Thanks – d.moncada Mar 31 '14 at 15:15

Anubian Noob · Answer 2 · 2014-03-31T15:16:10.583

0

Just do:

if(Info2.equals(""))
{
    shortname.setText("N/A");
}
else
{
    shortname.setText(Info2);
}

By default else is ran if your condition is false. Also keep in mind if Info2 can be null then you should add:

if("".equals(Info2))
{
    shortname.setText("N/A");
}
else
{
    shortname.setText(Info2);
}

The phrase "".equals(Info2) is called a yoda expression and returns false if Info2 is null.

edited Mar 31 '14 at 15:16

answered Mar 31 '14 at 15:08

Anubian Noob

13,426
6
53
75

1

Or easier: `"".equals(Info2)`... – Luiggi Mendoza Mar 31 '14 at 15:11
@LuiggiMendoza That seems harder to read (but I'm in awe I've actually never thought of it that way...) – Anubian Noob Mar 31 '14 at 15:13
1

That's called a yoda expression, it helps prevents NPEs. – takendarkk Mar 31 '14 at 15:14
Hmm I wish I knew that earlier... – Anubian Noob Mar 31 '14 at 15:14

Why I use if-else with equals not working?

2 Answers2