java ifpresent_Returning from Java Optional ifPresent()

The ideal solution is “command-query separation”: Make one method (command) for doing something with the string if it is present. And another method (query) to tell you whether it was there.

However, we don’t live an ideal world, and perfect solutions are never possible. If in your situation you cannot separate command and query, my taste is for the idea already presented by shmosel: map to a boolean. As a detail I would use filter rather than the inner if statement:

public boolean checkSomethingIfPresent() {

return mightReturnAString().filter(item -> item.equals("something"))

.map(item -> {

// Do some other stuff like use "something" in API calls

return true; // (compiles)

})

.orElse(false);

}

What I don’t like about it is that the call chain has a side effect, which is not normally expected except from ifPresent and ifPresentOrElse (and orElseThrow, of course).

If we insist on using ifPresent to make the side effect clearer, that is possible:

AtomicBoolean result = new AtomicBoolean(false);

mightReturnAString().filter(item -> item.equals("something"))

.ifPresent(item -> {

// Do some other stuff like use "something" in API calls

result.set(true);

});

return result.get();

I use AtomicBoolean as a container for the result since we would not be allowed to assign to a primitive boolean from within the lambda. We don’t need its atomicity, but it doesn’t harm either.