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UC Berkley CS61B: Data Structures (Free online course) - Project 0: 2048 Game question - METHOD IS GIVING ME NULL POINTER EXCEPTION ERROR [duplicate]

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What is a NullPointerException, and how do I fix it?
(12 answers)
Closed last year.
I'm having a hard time implementing the method below for Project 0: 2048 Game:
public static boolean maxTileExists(Board b)
This method should return true if any of the tiles in the board are equal to the winning tile value 2048. Note that rather than hard coding the constant 2048 into your code, you should use MAX_PIECE, which is a constant that is part of the Model class. In other words, you shouldn’t do if (x == 2048) but rather if (x == MAX_PIECE).
Leaving in hard coded numbers like 2048 is a bad programming practice sometimes referred to as a “magic number”. The danger of such magic numbers is that if you change them in one part of your code but not another, you might get unexpected results. By using a variable like MAX_PIECE you can ensure they all get changed together.
After you’ve written the method, the tests in TestMaxTileExists.java should pass.
Here is my code below:
/**
* Returns true if any tile is equal to the maximum valid value.
* Maximum valid value is given by MAX_PIECE. Note that
* given a Tile object t, we get its value with t.value().
*/
public static boolean maxTileExists(Board b) {
// TODO: Fill in this function.
for (int i = 0; i < b.size(); i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < b.size(); j++) {
if (b.tile(i, j).value() == MAX_PIECE) {
return true;
}
}
}
return false;
}
I keep getting this error when testing:
java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "game2048.Tile.value()" because the return value of "game2048.Board.tile(int, int)" is null
The first method that I needed to implement is below which worked perfectly and passed all test cases:
public static boolean emptySpaceExists(Board b)
This method should return true if any of the tiles in the given board are null. You should NOT modify the Board.java file in any way for this project. For this method, you’ll want to use the tile(int col, int row) and size() methods of the Board class. No other methods are necessary.
Note: We’ve designed the Board class using a special keyword private that disallows you from using the instance variables of Board directly. For example, if you try to access b.values[0][0], this will not work. This is a good thing! It forces you to learn to use the tile method, which you’ll use throughout the rest of the project.
Try opening the TestEmptySpace.java folder. Run the tests. You should see that 6 of the tests fail and 2 of them pass. After you’ve correctly written the emptySpaceExists method, all 8 tests in TestEmptySpace should pass.
Here is that code below:
/**
* Returns true if at least one space on the Board is empty.
* Empty spaces are stored as null.
*/
public static boolean emptySpaceExists(Board b) {
// TODO: Fill in this function.
for (int i = 0; i < b.size(); i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < b.size(); j++) {
if (b.tile(i, j) == null) {
return true;
}
}
}
return false;
}

Firstly, a NullPointerException generally occurs when you are trying to access something that hasn't been initialized yet. In your case, this is the .value() function.
In your second code block you may realize there is one major difference in the code you're using: this would be the "== null" part of your code as opposed to ".value() == MAX_PIECE".
Now, why would one of these throw an error while the other one does not?
This is because when you are checking if something is "null" you are seeing whether it exists or not. If it doesn't, then your program will return true, if it does exist, then your program will return false.
On the other hand, when you call .value() on an object you are already assuming the object exists. This means that, if the object has not been initialized for example, your program will attempt to dereference the pointer stored in your variable but will quickly realize that the pointer is not actually pointing to anything.
To fix an error such as this you simply need to make sure that what you're trying to access exists.
An example: lets say that we have Person x.
Person x;
Here we can quickly see that we will throw an error if we try something like this:
System.out.println(x.name());
Naturally this is because x doesn't exist yet.
However, if we wanted to see if Person x exists we would simply do something like this:
System.out.println(x == null);
In our case this isn't really necessary since we can plainly see that Person x has not been defined yet, but in a case like yours, where you are handling many different objects at once, a line like this could really help us.
This means that, if you want to make sure you don't throw a NullPointerException in your method you would only have to add one line (or change a line, this is a less verbose version of preventing an exception for the goal of learning).
public static boolean maxTileExists(Board b) {
// TODO: Fill in this function.
for (int i = 0; i < b.size(); i++) {
for (int j = 0; j < b.size(); j++) {
if (b.tile(i, j) == null) continue;
if (b.tile(i, j).value() == MAX_PIECE) {
return true;
}
}
}
return false;
}
By adding in the if statement that continues the for loop we skip the point in which the program would attempt to dereference an object that doesn't seem to exist.
One important thing to note, however, before you use this code:
It's also possible that your tile should already exist, and in my opinion this is very likely. This would be a deeper problem in your code and one that you would solve by going through and making sure every tile is initialized at the beginning of your program.

Identify record that is culprit - coding practices

Is method chaining good?
I am not against functional programming that uses method chaining a lot, but against a herd mentality where people mindlessly run behind something that is new.
The example, if I am processing a list of items using stream programming and need to find out the exact row that resulted into throwing NullPointerException.
private void test() {
List<User> aList = new ArrayList<>();
// fill aList with some data
aList.stream().forEach(x -> doSomethingMeaningFul(x.getAddress()));
}
private void doSomethingMeaningFul(Address x) {
// Do something
}
So in the example above if any object in list is null, it will lead to NullPointerException while calling x.getAddress() and come out, without giving us a hook to identify a User record which has this problem.
I may be missing something that offers this feature in stream programming, any help is appreciated.
Edit 1:
NPE is just an example, but there are several other RuntimeExceptions that could occur. Writing filter would essentially mean checking for every RTE condition based on the operation I am performing. And checking for every operation will become a pain.
To give a better idea about what I mean following is the snippet using older methods; I couldn't find any equivalent with streams / functional programming methods.
List<User> aList = new ArrayList<>();
// Fill list with some data
int counter = 0;
User u = null;
try {
for (;counter < aList.size(); counter++) {
u = aList.get(counter);
u.doSomething();
int result = u.getX() / u.getY();
}
} catch(Exception e) {
System.out.println("Error processing at index:" + counter + " with User record:" + u);
System.out.println("Exception:" + e);
}
This will be a boon during the maintenance phase(longest phase) pointing exact data related issues which are difficult to reproduce.
**Benefits:**
- Find exact index causing issue, pointing to data
- Any RTE is recorded and analyzed against the user record
- Smaller stacktrace to look at

Is method chaining good?
As so often, the simple answer is: it depends.
When you
know what you are doing
are be very sure that elements will never be null, thus the chance for an NPE in such a construct is (close to) 0
and the chaining of calls leads to improved readability
then sure, chain calls.
If any of the above criteria isn't clearly fulfilled, then consider not doing that.
In any case, it might be helpful to distribute your method calls on new lines. Tools like IntelliJ actually give you advanced type information for each line, when you do that (well, not always, see my own question ;)
From a different perspective: to the compiler, it doesn't matter much if you chain call. That really only matters to humans. Either for readability, or during debugging.

There are a few aspects to this.
1) Nulls
It's best to avoid the problem of checking for nulls, by never assigning null. This applies whether you're doing functional programming or not. Unfortunately a lot of library code does expose the possibility of a null return value, but try to limit exposure to this by handling it in one place.
Regardless of whether you're doing FP or not, you'll find you get a lot less frustrated if you never have to write null checks when calling your own methods, because your own methods can never return null.
An alternative to variables that might be null, is to use Java 8's Optional class.
Instead of:
public String myMethod(int i) {
if(i>0) {
return "Hello";
} else {
return null;
}
}
Do:
public Optional<String> myMethod(int i) {
if(i>0) {
return Optional.of("Hello");
} else {
return Optional.empty();
}
Look at Optional Javadoc to see how this forces the caller to think about the possibility of an Optional.empty() response.
As a bridge between the worlds of "null represents absent" and "Optional.empty() represents absent", you can use Optional.ofNullable(val) which returns Empty when val == null. But do bear in mind that Optional.empty() and Optional.of(null) are different values.
2) Exceptions
It's true that throwing an exception in a stream handler doesn't work very well. Exceptions aren't a very FP-friendly mechanism. The FP-friendly alternative is Either -- which isn't a standard part of Java but is easy to write yourself or find in third party libraries: Is there an equivalent of Scala's Either in Java 8?
public Either<Exception, Result> meaningfulMethod(Value val) {
try {
return Either.right(methodThatMightThrow(val));
} catch (Exception e) {
return Either.left(e);
}
}
... then:
List<Either<Exception, Result>> results = listOfValues.stream().map(meaningfulMethod).collect(Collectors.toList());
3) Indexes
You want to know the index of the stream element, when you're using a stream made from a List? See Is there a concise way to iterate over a stream with indices in Java 8?

In your test() function you are creating an emptylist List<User> aList = new ArrayList<>();
And doing for each on it. First add some element to
aList
If you want to handle null values you can add .filter(x-> x != null) this before foreach it will filter out all null value
Below is code
private void test() {
List<User> aList = new ArrayList<>();
aList.stream().filter(x-> x != null).forEach(x -> doSomethingMeaningFul(x.getAddress()));
}
private void doSomethingMeaningFul(Address x) {
// Do something
}

You can write a black of code in streams. And you can find out the list item which might result in NullPointerException. I hope this code might help
private void test() {
List<User> aList = new ArrayList<>();
aList.stream().forEach(x -> {
if(x.getAddress() != null)
return doSomethingMeaningFul(x.getAddress())
else
system.out.println(x+ "doesn't have address");
});
}
private void doSomethingMeaningFul(Address x) {
// Do something
}
If you want you can throw NullPointerException or custom excption like AddressNotFoundException in the else part

Functional Operations to iterate arrays in Java 8 [closed]

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So in an attempt to keep up with the times, I would like to learn what I can about Java 8's new functional operations. Beyond the opinions of which looks nicer, which is totally opinion based, would someone like to describe in detail the positives(and possibly negatives) in using Java 8's new functional programming style to iterate arrays?
This is what I mean:
Pre-Java 8:
for(Object item: itemList){
item.doSomething();
}
Java 8:
itemList.stream().forEach((item) -> {
item.doSomething();
});
The answers have enlightened me, so I will write something to demonstrate it's potential.
static int pos = 0;
public static void main(String[] args) {
List<Worker> workers = Arrays.asList(new Worker[1000]);
workers.replaceAll(worker -> new Worker(pos++));
workers.parallelStream().forEach(Worker::startJob);
}
public static class Worker {
final int pos;
public Worker(int pos) {
this.pos = pos;
}
public synchronized void startJob() {
try {
wait(100);
} catch (InterruptedException ex) {
Logger.global.log(Level.SEVERE, null, ex);
}
System.out.println("Finished... " + pos);
}
}

Only a partial answer, but the general point of the iterators is moving from external iteration to internal iteration. The foreach just a replacement, but consider something like the following (from Java 8 Lambdas) simulating the throwing of two dice:
public Map < Integer, Double > parallelDiceRolls() {
double fraction = 1.0 / N;
return IntStream.range( 0, N) .parallel()
.mapToObj( twoDiceThrows())
.collect( groupingBy( side -> side, summingDouble( n -> fraction)));
}
This is running a parallel operation against the stream, removing all external iteration requirements and all manual threading requirements. It replaces 50-60 lines of code.
It also moves from a focus on how to accomplish something (such as the OP's pre-Java 8 example) to what to accomplish.
Consider a Artist class that has an .isFrom(String) method. In the OP's first example, to count how many are from Liverpool, the code would be something like:
int count = 0;
for (Artist artist : allArtists) {
if (artist.isFrom("Liverpool")) {
count++;
}
}
Notice that the the desire to accumulate is lost in the loop and the filtering. Contrast with:
allArtists.stream()
.filter(artist -> artist.isFrom("Liverpool")
.count();
Now the logic is clear -- a filtering and a count. The iteration is now internal rather than external.
There are many additional examples, rationales, and preferences. But I think it is more than "beauty" -- it is a focus on the what, not the how when one considers iteratation.

Do static arraylists lose what the contain?

I have a program and its processing rather large amounts of data. It is comparing one static string arraylist to another checking whether a string is contained in it.
But what happens is after processing lets say 40k+ strings it begins to fail on the checking. By fail I mean it begins to not recognize that a string already exists in the other?
Is there a reason for this or is the arraylist simply too large?
Thanks
EDIT
for (int i = 0; i < arraylist1.size(); i++) {
boolean enter = true;
for (int x = 0; x < arraylist2.size() && enter; x++) {
if (arraylist1.get(i).getString().matches(arraylist2.get(x))) {
enter = false;
}
}
if (enter) {
//do something
}
}
EDIT****
Off-topic to the question but using .equals() instead of .matches() improves the performance MASSIVELY.

The simple answer is: no.
ArrayLists do not lose what is in them.
Your symptoms could be caused by a number of things, including threading/synchronization issues, subtle differences in the string, etc.
You should consider using a HashSet anyway though. It will make the "contains" check much much faster.
Using HashSet all your code above becomes:
List<String> list;
Set<String> set;
for (String str: list) {
if (!set.contains(str)) {
//do something
}
}
Much simpler and incredibly faster.
If you do need to use lists you can do the same thing but having both collections as List, the API doesn't change but performance will.

Tutorials for Java errors and syntax

I am asking for help on self-help, which is kind of an oxymoron. How do I bug you nice folks less by solving more of my own problems?
I am in my last week of Java programming and I am having a huge hurdle with learning Java. I have read all the books but I keep getting hung up on tiny little issues. It is like trying to build a house of cards. I only know about the parts of the syntax and the uses that the book shows. When I am combining things, I run into horrible hurdles. I try for hours of tinkering to figure them out. The sun docs only show basic uses that don't seem to help
Here is what I would like:
When I am trying something and it doesn't work like the following manipulations of an array list, I want to find a place or program that can show examples code of things like adding an additional class instance to an arrayList. Where can I learn concisely about this without having to ask a question or 2 for every syntax error? Where is the Google for Java? Is there a program that will take your errors and show you how to fix them (or offer suggestions)?
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:101: incompatible types
found : RatedDVD[]
required: java.util.ArrayList
dvdlist = temp;
^
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:110: array required, but java.util.ArrayList found
if (p != dvdlist[i]) {
^
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:111: array required, but java.util.ArrayList found
temp[i-adj] = dvdlist[i];
^
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:115: incompatible types
found : RatedDVD[]
required: java.util.ArrayList
dvdlist = temp;
Here is my code for this class if anyone is interested in looking at it for me:
//Contruct inv and allow for methods add, get, size, sort, and value
import java.util.*;
import java.io.BufferedWriter;
import java.io.File;
import java.io.FileWriter;
public class Inventory
{// class Inventory
private ArrayList<RatedDVD> dvdlist;// declare dvdlist as ArrayList of RatedDVD
private int numDVDs;
public Inventory()
{// method Inventory
dvdlist = new ArrayList<RatedDVD>();
}// end method
// add & get
public RatedDVD get(int i){return dvdlist.get(i);}// method get
public void add(DVD d){
dvdlist = dvdlist d;
sort();
}// method add
public double value()
{// method value
double total = 0.0;
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++)
{// for every pass thru dvdlist add total
// [DEBUG] consider enhanced for
total += get(i).feeValue();
}
return total;
}// end method value
public void sort()
{// method sort
// [DEBUG] consider optimization
int n = dvdlist.size();
for (int search = 1; search < n; search++)
{// for do the following and increment till dvdlist has been searched
for (int i = 0; i < n-search; i++)
{// for step through comparison for entire dvdlist
if (dvdlist.get(i).getName().compareToIgnoreCase(dvdlist.get(i+1).getName()) > 0)
{// if swap necessary then swap
RatedDVD temp = dvdlist.get(i);
dvdlist.set(i,dvdlist.get(i+1));
dvdlist.set(i+1,temp);
}// end if swap
}// end for compareto
}// end outer for
}// end method sort
public int size(){return dvdlist.size();}// method size
public void save() {
save(true);
}
// save it to C:\data\inventory.dat
public void save(boolean saveagain) {
try {
BufferedWriter w = new BufferedWriter(new FileWriter("c:\\data\\inventory.dat"));
for (int i = 0; i < size(); i++) {
RatedDVD dvd = get(i);
w.write( dvd.getItem() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getName() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getRating() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getUnits() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.getPrice() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.value() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.fee() + "\n");
w.write( dvd.feeValue() + "\n");
w.newLine();
}
// total value of it
//w.write( value() + "\n");
w.close();
} catch (Exception ex) {
if (saveagain) {
new File("c:\\data\\").mkdir(); // make file if doesn't exist
save(false);
}
}
}
public int search(String name) {
for (int i = 0; i < size(); i++) { // check if name string is equal
if (get(i).getName().equalsIgnoreCase(name)) return i;
}
return -1; // we didn't find anything
}
// add a new dvd to the end, increasing the array size
public void add(RatedDVD p) {
RatedDVD[] temp = new RatedDVD[dvdlist.size()+1];
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
temp[i] = dvdlist[i];
}
temp[temp.length-1] = p; // add it at the end
dvdlist = temp;
}
// remove a DVD from the array, and shrink the array size
public void delete(RatedDVD p) {
RatedDVD[] temp = new RatedDVD[dvdlist.size()-1];
int adj = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
if (p != dvdlist[i]) {
temp[i-adj] = dvdlist[i];
}
else adj = 1;
}
dvdlist = temp;
}
public int highestNumber() {
int numb = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
if (get(i).getItem() > numb) {
numb = get(i).getItem();
}
}
return numb;
}
}// end class inventory

The dvdlist is an ArrayList, which implements the Collection interface, not an Array (BTW, and this is known as the "program to an interface, not an implementation" principle, you should decalare dvdlist as a java.util.List):
private ArrayList<RatedDVD> dvdlist;// declare dvdlist as ArrayList of RatedDVD
Have a look at the methods on the Collection interface, you'll find everything you need for adding and removing elements.
So, to add a RatedDVD, you don't need to use a temporary array of RatedDVD that won't fit anyway into an ArrayList like you're doing here:
// add a new dvd to the end, increasing the array size
public void add(RatedDVD p) {
RatedDVD[] temp = new RatedDVD[dvdlist.size()+1];
for (int i = 0; i < dvdlist.size(); i++) {
temp[i] = dvdlist[i];
}
temp[temp.length-1] = p; // add it at the end
dvdlist = temp;
}
Instead, just call the add(Object o) method on dvdlist.
To delete a RatedDVD instance, use the remove(Object o) method on dvdlist.
For the search() method, consider using contains(Object o) on dvdlist.
If you need to iterate over a collection, use an Iterator:
for (Iterator iter = dvdlist.iterator(); iter.hasNext();) {
RatedDVD ratedDVD = (RatedDVD) iter.next();
//rest of the code block removed
}
Or even faster now with Java 5+ and Generics:
for (RatedDVD ratedDVD : dvdlist) {
// rest of the code here
}
Really, you need to dig the the Collection Framework.

The compiler errors seem to be quite descriptive of what you're doing wrong, but I can see why you might be confused about how to do it right. You seem to be misunderstanding how an ArrayList is meant to be used. If you look at the docs, you will see it has methods add() and remove() that do the operations you've created add() and delete() methods for. You're attempting to treat the ArrayList as if it is a raw array. Don't do that; use the methods provided by the API. Not only will this solve your errors, but it will make your code cleaner and clearer to future programmers.

Actually, the compiler error is very clear:
/tmp/jc_4083/Inventory.java:101: incompatible types
found : RatedDVD[]
required: java.util.ArrayList
dvdlist = temp;
It says "incompatible types" and that it expected a java.util.ArrayList but found instead a RatedDVD[].
Your problem is simply that, unlike in languages like Python, Java does not treat lists and arrays interchangeably. They are completely different things - arrays are special language-level constructs, while ArrayList is a class like any other.
So you cannot assign an array to a variably of type list. You either have to decide on using only one of these two types throughout your program, or you have to convert between them manually, using methods such as java.util.Arrays.asList() and List.toArray().
It seems that you're trying to do too advanced things too fast - you should probably look at Sun's Java tutorials first - though they are quite comprehensive and can also be used as a reference for looking up language details. There is also a section about conversion between collections and arrays.

I suggest you use an IDE (like Eclipse, entirely free). It will help you through the API syntax by making suggestions as you type, and show you errors when you type them, so that you can pinpoint exact syntax errors and ask about them. In terms of asking, that is what StackOverflow is for.
Others beat me to your specific syntax question, so I'm just limiting my answer to the general question of how you get help.

To resolve compiler errors, usually it's best to start with the first one and fix it first. After fixing that, the rest of the compiler errors might also be solved, or they might be different kinds of errors.
To understand what some compiler error means, there is an article called Compile and Runtime Errors in Java (PDF) that goes through different kinds of error messages and gives examples of what kind of code may cause them. And as for runtime error messages, Java Glossary has quite a big list of them. They also have a list of compile-time error messages.

So, your problem here is that you're trying to access an ArrayList like an array, which is incorrect because Java doesn't do stuff like that. You need to use list.get(i) to get the ith element in an Array. Similarly, when you tried to set an ArrayList variable to an array, the compiler got mad at you. You need to create a new ArrayList with the contents of temp and then set dvdlist to that, eg. dvdlist = new ArrayList<RatedDVD>(temp);.
As for your continued problems: There is an API Specification for Java which tells you basically how to use all the classes that are included in the Java API. For example, ArrayList is a generic collection which has certain methods and constructors that you need to use. Java does not have operator overloading, so you can't just access elements in a List using array syntax. Also, arrays are their own data type so you can't just treat an ArrayList as an array and vice versa.

It looks like you are confused about the difference between an array and an ArrayList. An array is a static list of elements, and is constructed using the [] symbols. An ArrayList is an object in the Collections system in Java that acts like a size-modifiable array - i.e. it can be indexed into, and can be added onto, inserted into, etc. They are not interchangable.
As to where you can look, etc. If this is your first programming experience, you are not alone. Many compiler errors are less than helpful. One suggestion I can give you that I learned through many years of trial and error - start small and build up. Get a main method that compiles. Then add the first little piece (creating a class for instance). Then add the next piece, and so on. Test as you go, etc. You can google for particular compiler errors - I have been surprised what I have found. Beyond that, a lot of it is trial and error - these are things you learn from experience, and a lot of the speed of "old hands" comes from the long experience of seeing what you can do wrong over and over again, not any sort of innate intelligence. I totally understand your frustration - I felt that way when I was starting out about 15 years ago now (but I was on Borland Pascal - yuck).

One of the biggest issues beginning programmers seem to have is not being able to read and interpret error messages very well.
You would be well served by carefully examining the errors that javac (or any compiler/interpreter) provides. Maybe even start by making some mistakes that you understand in your code (ie, assign an incorrect typed value to a variable, extend a loop beyond the bounds) and see how your compiler handles these.

Try to think in object oriented terms...
It looks to me that something (classwork, I guess) has pushed you into writing an object-oriented program but it's possible that you haven't yet accepted that you will need to think in those terms.
In Java most things are objects, but Java supports primitive types, and arrays of both. It's possible to program in Java in a flat, procedural, mutable way, but also possible to write in an object-oriented functional way. It's possible to do both and get confused, which is where you may be right now.
You are trying to mix the two styles. This isn't always a bad thing, but for coursework we can safely bet the farm that your instructor will want to see more objects and fewer arrays, unless those arrays are the private internal implementation of an object.
So think of the data structures as black boxes with methods, and then see how what you are doing is implementing one yourself.
You have probably been here, but these are the things that you can do with an ArrayList. And you have an ArrayList<RatedDVD> which further restricts what you can do with it. Try to understand this first, and then fix the program to work with the available operations on an ArrayList object.