Type Nullability
Types that are set as non_nullable are in essence required. Whereas types that are set as nullable are not required and thereby optional. By default, types are mapped and generated using the Java rules:
-
Any primitive type, such as
int
, is non-nullable. -
Any reference type, such as
String
orInteger
, is nullable. -
A collection accepts
null
, unless the collection item type is primitive. -
A map accepts
null
, unless the collection item type is primitive.
Any of these nullable types can be made non-nullable by applying a @Nonnull
annotation.
You can use any annotation that has the name nonnull
(case-insensitive). Below are examples of this:
-
jakarta.annotation.Nonnull
; -
edu.umd.cs.findbugs.annotations.NonNull
; -
lombok.NonNull
; -
android.support.annotation.NonNull
; -
org.eclipse.jdt.annotation.NonNull
; or -
any other annotation (including custom) that has the name
nonnull
(case-insensitive).
Endpoint Functions
For an endpoint function, nullable elements are as follows: Function Parameter Type or Function Return Type.
For Function Parameter Types, arguments cannot be omitted, even when the parameter types are nullable. To receive a null
parameter value in Java, send an undefined
argument in the endpoint function call.
@Endpoint
class PersonEndpoint {
// Person must have at least the first and last name.
public void setFullName(@Nonnull String firstName, @Nonnull String lastName, String middleName) {
// omitted code
}
// Full name must exist.
@Nonnull
public String getFullName() {
// omitted code
}
// Person should have no connections with other people. If they have,
// the connection cannot be null.
public Map<String, @Nonnull String> getConnections() {
// omitted code
}
}
export async function setName(
firstName: string,
lastName: string,
middleName: string | undefined
) {
return client.call('PersonEndpoint', 'setFullName', {firstName, lastName, middleName});
}
export async function getFullName(): Promise<string> {
return client.call('PersonEndpoint', 'getFullName');
}
export async function getConnections(): Promise<Record<string, string> | undefined> {
return client.call('PersonEndpoint', 'getConnections');
}
Data Class Properties
Properties of data classes are nullable. Unlike the function parameters, all nullable properties can be omitted.
public class MyBean {
private long id;
@Nonnull
private String value;
private String description;
private Map<String, String> map;
@Nonnull
private List<String> list;
}
export default interface MyBean {
id: number;
value: string;
description?: string;
map?: Record<string, string | undefined>;
list: Array<string | undefined>;
}
Collection Item Types
The collection item type is nullable.
public class MyBean {
private List<String> list;
private List<@Nonnull String> nonNullableList;
private Map<String, String> map;
private Map<String, @Nonnull String> nonNullableMap;
}
export default interface MyBean {
list?: Array<string | undefined>;
nonNullableList?: Array<string>;
map?: Record<string, string | undefined>;
nonNullableMap?: Record<string, string>;
}
@NonNullApi
Along with @Nonnull
annotations, you could also use package-level @NonNullApi
annotations. It would make all of the nullable types in a package non-nullable by default. All nested types — List
and Map
items, etc. — are also affected.
By default, the following annotation is supported: org.springframework.lang.NonNullApi
.
To make any type nullable, you must add @Nullable
annotation to it.
@NonNullApi
package com.example.application;
public class MyBean {
public List<String> list;
public Map<String, Integer> map;
@Nullable
public String nullable;
}
export default interface MyBean {
list: Array<string>;
map: Record<string, number>;
nullable?: string;
}