Java Coding Problems

229. Returning a non-existent default value

Let's assume that we have a method that returns a result based on an Optional class. If this Optional class is empty then the method returns a computed value. The computeStatus() method computes this value:

private String computeStatus() {  // some code used to compute status}

Now, a clumsy solution will rely on the isPresent()-get() pair, as follows:

// Avoidpublic String findStatus() {  Optional<String> status = ...; // this is prone to be empty  if (status.isPresent()) {    return status.get();  } else {    return computeStatus();  }}

Even if this solution is clumsy, it is still better than relying on the orElse() method, as follows:

// Avoidpublic String findStatus() { Optional<String> status = ...; // ...