Optional ofNullable() method in Java with examples

The ofNullable() method of the Optional class creates an Optional object containing the specified value. When the value is null, it returns an empty Optional instead of throwing an exception.

• ofNullable() accepts both null and non-null values.
• A non-null value is stored inside the Optional object.
• A null value produces Optional.empty().

Example

Input: value = 9455
Output: Optional[9455]

Input: value = null
Output: Optional.empty

Syntax:

public static <T> Optional<T> ofNullable(T value)

The method returns an Optional containing the specified value. For a null value, it returns an empty Optional.

1: Using ofNullable() with a Non-Null Value

The following program passes an integer value to ofNullable(). The value is stored inside the Optional object.

import java.util.*;

public class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        Optional<Integer> op1 =
            Optional.ofNullable(9455);

        System.out.println("Optional 1: " + op1);
    }
}

Optional 1: Optional[9455]

Explanation: The value 9455 is not null, so ofNullable() creates an Optional containing that value. Printing the object displays Optional[9455].

 2: Using ofNullable() with a Null Value

The following program passes null to ofNullable().

import java.util.*;

public class GFG {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        Optional<String> op2 =
            Optional.ofNullable(null);

        System.out.println("Optional 2: " + op2);
    }
}

Optional 2: Optional.empty

Explanation: Since the specified value is null, ofNullable() returns an empty Optional. The empty instance is displayed as Optional.empty.