JVM/Java: Null-Restricted and Nullable Types

This page summarizes the projects mentioned and recommended in the original post on news.ycombinator.com

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  1. NullAway

    A tool to help eliminate NullPointerExceptions (NPEs) in your Java code with low build-time overhead

    Would be cool if Java got this feature, explicit optionality at a language level a la T? is an enormous developer QoL in Kotlin and Typescript in my experience. In Java there's tools like NullAway [1] but they're a hassle.

    Language-level support is leagues better than Optional/Maybe in my experience too because it keeps the code focused on the actual logic instead of putting everything in a map/flatMap railway.

    [1] https://github.com/uber/NullAway

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  3. SharpLab

    .NET language playground

    AFAIK you can still use it for older frameworks. The compiler embeds the attributes into the assembly when they're known to not be part of the runtime library [−3.7]. You can do the same with the various conditional nullability attributes.

    [−3.7]: https://sharplab.io/#v2:EYLgHgbALAPgAgZgARwExIMJIN4FgBQSRKyc...

  4. initializr

    A quickstart generator for Spring projects

    > Spring has first class support for any JVM language that helps them bring money to the table.

    The Kotlin support is on a complete different level. Go to https://start.spring.io/, you get an option of Java, Kotlin or Groovy - no Scala, Clojure etc. Dedicated Scala support especially never really took off.

    > It definitly has an influence on available jobs.

    I worked at two different companies on almost exclusively Kotlin codebases and have interviewed for several more. There are enough jobs to keep me employed with a good salary and even if those jobs disappeared, I would just learn some other language, no big deal. In the meantime, I get to use a language that's actually decently fun to write.

    I get that the very existence of Kotlin somehow offends you, but you don't have to shout it from every rooftop. There's enough space on the planet for everyone.

NOTE: The number of mentions on this list indicates mentions on common posts plus user suggested alternatives. Hence, a higher number means a more popular project.

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Did you know that Java is
the 10th most popular programming language
based on number of references?