Set property only if is not null

Question

I have some data in input that I'll have to use to set all properties of a POJO. The POJO might be partially set. My problem is to set the property only if related input data is not null. I know I can do this in two ways:

if (input != null) {
    obj.setData(input);
}

or

obj.setData(input != null ? input : obj.getData());

I'm looking for a solution less ugly and better for objects with a big number of properties to set.

Well, in order to check for null you have to check for null :-) — Christopher Schneider, May 04 '16 at 13:02
I searched similar questions before posting, and I've not found this. Maybe is different. My problem is to not overwrite existing data in a pojo with a null value. Because my not long experience with java (I started to use it 1 year and some months ago), I hoped for the existence of a better way to do this. — user3138984, May 04 '16 at 13:25

Sergii Bishyr · Answer 1 · 2019-02-12T19:42:52.993

17

You can also use java8 Optional

obj.setData(Optional.ofNullable(input).orElse(obj.getData()));

Or even use a more elegant way:

Optional.ofNullable(input).ifPresent(obj::setData);

edited Feb 12 '19 at 19:42

answered May 04 '16 at 13:00

Sergii Bishyr

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Thanks, but I can't use java 8. I must use java 7. – user3138984 May 04 '16 at 13:12
1

As for me in this case null checking must be inside of the setter. – Sergii Bishyr May 04 '16 at 13:19
1

In Java 7 you can use Optional from Guava – Andrei_N May 04 '16 at 20:37

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered May 05 '16 at 12:11

0

Use guava:

String someString = "value";
Optional.fromNullable(someString).or("defaultValue");

answered May 05 '16 at 12:11

g-t

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Set property only if is not null

2 Answers2