Search code examples
javabooleanautoboxing

Boolean != false

In Java, you would usually say that

if(someBool != false)

is the same as

if(someBool)

But what if someBool is not of type boolean but Boolean, and its value is null?

Solution

  • It will throw a NullPointerException (autounboxing of null throws NPE).

    But that only means that you must not allow a null value. Either use a default, or don't use autounboxing and make a non-null check. Because using a null value of a boolean means you have 3, not 2 values. (Better ways of handling it were proposed by Michael and Tobiask)