ScopedValue propagation and API

[Alan Bateman]

On 23/02/2026 14:18, Michael Stover wrote:
> I've been using Scoped Values heavily for some time for a variety of 
> things and just thought I'd share a couple thoughts .  I'm currently 
> using JDK 25.
>
> First, really simply, the ScopedValue.get() method throws a runtime 
> exception if the value is not bound.  Ok, kind of like Optional.  But, 
> it seems ScopedValue.orElse(null) also throws a runtime exception, 
> which makes it awkward to safely get the currently scoped value or 
> null.  Instead we have to do:
>
> if(scopedValue.isBound()) return scopedValue.get();
> else return null;
>
> Or use a static NullObject pattern.  If we give orElse() a new Object, 
> we're creating that new object every time regardless of whether  it's 
> needed.  So, calling isBound() all the time seems overly verbose and 
> tedious, and it appears to be a bit of a performance hit from my 
> testing as well, as it's an expensive operation, and I guess we're now 
> doing it twice.
>
> So I think that could be improved so one can get a null out, or at 
> least give us an idiom that isn't a performance drag.
>

Using a sentinel value, like your NullObject, should be okay.

orElse(T) is specified to reject null to allow it be compatibly changed 
to T! in the future.

-Alan