5 Null Handling Techniques Every Developer MUST Know | Best Coding Practice | Code Decode

In this video of code decode we have explained best coding practice i.e. not using null in 2025

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"Are you still writing != null checks everywhere in your Java code? What if you were told that there are 5 modern, professional ways to handle nulls that will make your code cleaner, safer, and more maintainable?

## Method 1: Utility Classes
**The key insight:** Java provides powerful utility classes that handle all the null checking logic for you.

## Method 2: Optional - The Modern Functional Approach
**The philosophy:** Instead of null being a "special case," absence becomes an explicit state that must be handled.

## Method 3: Defensive Programming - Fail Fast
**The principle:** Detect problems as early as possible, preferably where invalid data enters your system.

## Method 4: Null Object Pattern - Eliminate Null Checks
**The concept:**

The **Null Object Pattern** is a smart way to eliminate messy `null` checks and make your code more **robust and readable**. Instead of returning null, return a **harmless default object** that behaves like a "do nothing" version of the real object.

It avoids:

- Null pointer exceptions
- If-else checks like `if (user != null)`
- Breaking polymorphism

## Method 5: Modern Annotations + Static Analysis
**The approach:** Make null-handling expectations explicit and enforceable at compile-time.

**“This value should never be null”** or
**“This value might be null – be careful!” - **Then tools like IntelliJ, Eclipse, SonarLint, or SpotBugs can warn you at compile time about bad null usage.

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[vandanapal]

I've been following your content for the past two years and truly appreciate the value you provide. I'm interested in joining your Udemy course for interview preparation. However, I noticed that Angular is used in the course, and since I'm primarily a backend developer, I'm wondering how beneficial the course would be for someone with my background. Would love your insights on this!

[vyomchandragallani]

this is the first video which I watched from your channel, and its really insightful, thanks !!

[architjain]

can you add these slides in the description or comment, it will be very helpfull for revising these concepts

[vilkassekar]

Mam the way you are explaining is very nice . if you go bit slow then its really interesting looks you are explaining bit fast like last period in school.

[qwertasdfg]

Hello Mam
Thank you for a such in depth knowledge on the null pointer checks and i felt this is very helpful in my corporate carrier i had these kind of pyramid dooms in my code and now i have some better ways to organize them.
Please do such informative videos.😊

[ganeshbabu]

You forget to mention java community moving towards jspecify.

[bharathaadi]

Great work plz keep going like this 🎉🎉🎉

[bhavyaaggarwal]

Ma'am can you pls share the doc which you are using by the way gr8 explanation 🎉🎉🎉

[MamtaKumari-lucy]

I’ve seen the perks available to paying members. Since I’ve already paid, can I access the page you mentioned or explained?

[saikumarkatta]

Method 3 more looks like a @Valid in spring boot right?

[Sumeshkumarback]

17:02 if I don't want that orElse condition then what will happen?

[parmodprajapati]

If I don't know more about AWS, should I buy

[sourabhjinde]

"If you give pyramid of doom, your interview is doomed" 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[saikumarkatta]

use orElse(supplier) instead of hardcoded for lazy

[rubeushagrid]

Replace not equal null check with a function that does the same thing😂😂😂