Does java.util.List.isEmpty() check if the list itself is null? [duplicate]

Does java.util.List.isEmpty() check if the list itself is null, or do I have to do this check myself?

For example:

List<String> test = null;

if (!test.isEmpty()) {
    for (String o : test) {
        // do stuff here            
    }
}

Will this throw a NullPointerException because test is null?

Solution 1:

You're trying to call the isEmpty() method on a null reference (as List test = null;). This will surely throw a NullPointerException. You should do if(test!=null) instead (Checking for null first).

The method isEmpty() returns true, if an ArrayList object contains no elements; false otherwise (for that the List must first be instantiated that is in your case is null).

Edit:

You may want to see this question.

Solution 2:

I would recommend using Apache Commons Collections

http://commons.apache.org/proper/commons-collections/javadocs/api-release/org/apache/commons/collections4/CollectionUtils.html#isEmpty(java.util.Collection)

which implements it quite ok and well documented:

/**
 * Null-safe check if the specified collection is empty.
 * <p>
 * Null returns true.
 * 
 * @param coll  the collection to check, may be null
 * @return true if empty or null
 * @since Commons Collections 3.2
 */
public static boolean isEmpty(Collection coll) {
    return (coll == null || coll.isEmpty());
}

Solution 3:

This will throw a NullPointerException - as will any attempt to invoke an instance method on a null reference - but in cases like this you should make an explicit check against null:

if ((test != null) && !test.isEmpty())

This is much better, and clearer, than propagating an Exception.

Solution 4:

No java.util.List.isEmpty() doesn't check if a list is null.

If you are using Spring framework you can use the CollectionUtils class to check if a list is empty or not. It also takes care of the null references. Following is the code snippet from Spring framework's CollectionUtils class.

public static boolean isEmpty(Collection<?> collection) {
    return (collection == null || collection.isEmpty());
}

Even if you are not using Spring, you can go on and tweak this code to add in your AppUtil class.

Solution 5:

Invoking any method on any null reference will always result in an exception. Test if the object is null first:

List<Object> test = null;
if (test != null && !test.isEmpty()) {
    // ...
}

Alternatively, write a method to encapsulate this logic:

public static <T> boolean IsNullOrEmpty(Collection<T> list) {
    return list == null || list.isEmpty();
}

Then you can do:

List<Object> test = null;
if (!IsNullOrEmpty(test)) {
    // ...
}