class - Java: avoid checking for null in nested classes (Deep Null checking)

Question

Imagine I have a class Family. It contains a List of Person. Each (class) Person contains a (class) Address. Each (class) Address contains a (class) PostalCode. Any "intermediate" class can be null.

So, is there a simple way to get to PostalCode without having to check for null in every step? i.e., is there a way to avoid the following daisy chaining code? I know there's not "native" Java solution, but was hoping if anyone knows of a library or something. (checked Commons & Guava and didn't see anything)

if(family != null) {
    if(family.getPeople() != null) {
        if(family.people.get(0) != null) {
            if(people.get(0).getAddress() != null) {
                if(people.get(0).getAddress().getPostalCode() != null) {
                    //FINALLY MADE IT TO DO SOMETHING!!!
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

No, can't change the structure. It's from a service I don't have control over.

No, I can't use Groovy and it's handy "Elvis" operator.

No, I'd prefer not to wait for Java 8 :D

I can't believe I'm the first dev ever to get sick 'n tired of writing code like this, but I haven't been able to find a solution.

Answer 1

Your code behaves the same as

if(family != null &&
  family.getPeople() != null &&
  family.people.get(0) != null && 
  family.people.get(0).getAddress() != null &&
  family.people.get(0).getAddress().getPostalCode() != null) { 
       //My Code
}

Thanks to short circuiting evaluation, this is also safe, since the second condition will not be evaluated if the first is false, the 3rd won't be evaluated if the 2nd is false,.... and you will not get NPE because if it.