map and null values

[Peter Levart]

On 01/03/2013 12:42 PM, Doug Lea wrote:
> On 01/03/13 05:41, Peter Levart wrote:
>> On 01/02/2013 06:01 PM, Brian Goetz wrote:
>>> Note that many existing Map implementations throw NPE when you try and
>>> put a null key or value into it anyway.
>>>
>>>
>> That's true, but the default *replace* method could do better for those
>> (3rd party) Maps that allow null values.
> To back up:
>
> 1. Everyone who has contemplated the issue sees that allowing
> null elements in Stream API methods is a questionable idea.
> Some of us think that we should bite the bullet now and
> either not permit them or always ignore them. But the consensus
> is to instead say in effect that any element operation involving
> nulls is free to do anything it likes (use them, ignore them,
> or blow up).
>
> 2. Because Maps often feed and are fed by streams, and because
> parallel stream operations require concurrent maps, and because
> the required concurrent map operations cannot accept nulls
> (not because of meanness, but correctness), it is especially
> questionable to allow them. But we took the same tactic as (1):
> The added stream-support Map methods don't strictly forbid nulls,
> they just don't don't do what some people who use null values
> would like.
>
> Moral: If you'd like to use new JDK8 stream/collection/map
> features, it would be a good idea to get rid of your nulls now.
> Otherwise you are at the mercy of all the particular policies
> of all the methods reachable from stream operations.
> This is not really different than the current state of affairs.
> For example, sorting collections with nulls always blows up but
> finding them via contains() usually doesn't. But the uniformity
> of the Stream API makes people realize just how fragile their
> null-containing collections and maps really were.
>
> -Doug
>
>
All well and understood for Stream API. And one nice thing about Stream 
API is, that it is clearly separated from the rest of (old) collections 
API by 2 methods on j.u.Collection: stream() & parallelStream(). So if 
your collections or maps contain null elements and you invoke any of 
those two methods, you are asking for trouble. And javadoc for those 2 
methods should warn you about that. But other added methods (on Map for 
example) are useful for themselves also in plain non-concurrent 
scenarios, especially if they get optimized implementations in say 
j.u.HashMap. And if there is a way to provide a single default 
implementation in j.u.Map that satisfies both ConcurrentMap 
implementations that don't allow nulls and plain Map implementations 
that allow nulls, why not provide it?

Regards, Peter