How to get a length of a String by using 1 method? SHORTER

Question

It's really easy to get the length of a single string and return it's value!

public static int length(String s){//trys and returns length of any string
    try{//try code
    len = s.length();//gets the length of any string
    }catch (NullPointerException nullError){//checks for nulls
        len = 0;//if there is a null then there is 0 length of the string
    }
    return len;//return the integer length of any string
}

This simple code will catch an error! An example of an error would be if you use a JOptionPane and the user doesn't print anything just clicks the X. That would cause a null error! So if that's the case then then length would just be 0!

But now I just want to know how to make this a shorter code!

One of my friends need to know this so I posted this for them and anyone else that wanted to use this! @AmerQarabsa — Dylan Baldwin, Oct 13 '16 at 06:28
Welcome to Stack Overflow! Have a look at the [How to Ask](http://stackoverflow.com/help/how-to-ask) page to get some tips on how to get the most of the SO community, and what makes for good questions and answers. This particular format isn't really appropriate as a question, since it isn't presenting a problem that someone can answer. Check out the Help Center for tips on getting started. Good luck! — nbrooks, Oct 13 '16 at 06:30

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Oct 13 '16 at 06:25

2

return str != null ? str.length() : 0

edited Oct 13 '16 at 06:25

nbrooks

18,126
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answered Oct 13 '16 at 06:24

Gikkman

752
6
21

Thank you! I need to learn more! – Dylan Baldwin Oct 13 '16 at 06:31
No problem, everyone's new at some point. Please remember to accept the answer if it solved your problem. And also, take a minute to read the [Tour](http://stackoverflow.com/tour) if you are new here. Welcome to SO :-) – Gikkman Oct 13 '16 at 06:34

GhostCat · Answer 2 · 2016-10-13T06:42:37.010

0

There is a misconception on your end.

A null string is null. It doesn't have a length! An empty string has length 0.

And to add more confusion, try what happens when you do

String str = null;
System.out.println(str);

Surprise ... that will print more than just an empty line.

In other words: better think twice before defining that a null string has length 0!

In that sense, you might better be doing something like

public static String ensureNotNull(String input) {
  if (input == null) { return ""; }
  return input;
}

String someString = ... coming from somewhere, maybe null
someString = ensureNotNull(someString);

Because that will make sure that someString has length 0, and is not null! More importantly: "your" idea is to have A) some string variable B) some additional int variable. Meaning: based on the value of that string, you have to carry along that additional int value. So, all of a sudden, your code dealing with that one string ... also has to deal with that other int value. All the time. Not a good idea.

edited Oct 13 '16 at 06:42

answered Oct 13 '16 at 06:37

GhostCat

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I'm saying I want the length to be 0 if there is a null. Thank you! – Dylan Baldwin Oct 13 '16 at 06:40
Please see my updated answer; I think there are **better** ways to deal with that. – GhostCat Oct 13 '16 at 06:41
I also need it to be an integer. – Dylan Baldwin Oct 13 '16 at 06:42
Be careful about wording. There is **int** and **Integer**. But there is no thing such as *integer* in Java. – GhostCat Oct 13 '16 at 06:43
Ok I think I know now! Thanks for the help! – Dylan Baldwin Oct 13 '16 at 06:43
@GhostCat Integers are very much present in Java. It just doesn't have an *integer* keyword. It's perfectly acceptable (and arguably preferable) to refer to variables of type `int` as integers though. That's what they are (and that's what `int` is short for). `:)` – nbrooks Oct 13 '16 at 06:55

score -1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 13 '16 at 06:27

-1

public static int length(String s){
   return s==null?0:s.length();
}

answered Oct 13 '16 at 06:27

Noushad

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How to get a length of a String by using 1 method? SHORTER

3 Answers3