strange NullPointerException

[John Eric Hamacher]

Hello:

I am getting a NullPOinterException at this line:

if (previousState[i] == null) {

previousState[i] is a java.util.List of size 0;

Anybody know why this is happening?

Thanks.

[Jim Yingst]

It looks like previousState is null, so previousState[i] can't reference anything. If you don't believe that's the case, try printing out the value just before this line:

System.out.println("previousState: " + previousState);

[Stevi Deter]

If List is of size 0, it has no elements, so you can't actually access a specific element.

You can add a null to a List, but you can't access an element that doesn't exist.

[John Eric Hamacher]

Thanks. I'm not accessing a member of the List itself, previousState[i] is a List. previousState is just an array of Lists.

[Jim Yingst]

Well, previousState is supposed to be an array of lists. However I think it's actually null, and that's why you're getting the exception. If you're certain that the NPE stack trace points to that line, then this is the only possibility.

I suppose we must also consider the possibility that, for example, you've got the wrong line, perhaps because the .java file hasn't been freshly compiled into a .class file (you've got an old class file lying around). If that's the case, it will become obvious when you att the System.out.println() statement I suggested.

[Stevi Deter]

Then I'll defer to Jim's accurate answer.

If previousState is null, you'll get an NullPointerException trying to access an element of the array.

If previousState doesn't contain i+1 elements, previousState[i] will return an IndexOutOfBoundsException.

Only if previousState is not null, and contains i+1 elements, will previousState[i] be able to return the value at index i.

Unless, of course, the assumption that i is an int is wrong and you're using an Integer. In which case, if Integer i is null, that could also throw an NPE.
[ May 07, 2008: Message edited by: Stevi Deter ]

[John Eric Hamacher]

You're both right. previousState was null. I guess that surprised me. I had just taken the steps to prevent this from happening in HIbernate so I wasn't expecting it to actually happen! Its the end of a long day.

[Jim Yingst]

[Stevi]: Unless, of course, the assumption that i is an int is wrong and you're using an Integer. In which case, if Integer i is null, that could also throw an NPE.

Oh, good point, I forgot that possibility.

Glad to hear it worked out, John.