What is the purpose of the Optional class in Java 8?

Java MCQ: What is the purpose of the Optional class in Java 8?

Answer:

Explanation:

The Optional class in Java 8 is used to provide a container object that may or may not contain a non-null value. It is a utility class introduced to help avoid NullPointerException and to represent the concept of an optional value, which may or may not be present.

Here’s an example of using Optional:

import java.util.Optional;

public class OptionalExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Optional<String> optionalName = Optional.ofNullable(null);
        String name = optionalName.orElse("Default Name");
        System.out.println(name);
    }
}

In this example, an Optional is created using Optional.ofNullable() with a null value. The orElse() method is then used to provide a default value if the Optional is empty (i.e., it contains null). The result is “Default Name” printed to the console.

Optional provides a way to handle null values more gracefully, making code more readable and less prone to errors. It offers methods such as isPresent(), ifPresent(), orElse(), and orElseGet() to work with optional values in a functional style.

Reference links:

https://www.rameshfadatare.com/learn-java-programming/
https://www.javaguides.net/p/java-tutorial-learn-java-programming.html