Optional returns null value

The problem I’m facing is, when returning Optional i get null value.As I tought the purpose of Optional type is to avoid null values I’m a bit confused now.
This is my code:
PlayerController.java

    @GetMapping("/{id}")
    public Optional<Player> getPlayer(@PathVariable Long id) {
        return playerService.getPlayerById(id);
    }

PlayerService.java

public interface PlayerService {

    List<Player> getAllPlayers();
    Optional<Player> getPlayerById(Long id);
}

PlayerServiceImpl.java

    @Override
    public Optional<Player> getPlayerById(Long id) {
        return playerRepository.findById(id);
        }

When I test this using Postman, for players which id actually exists I get the player object but if I put a non existing id i get null

I’ve tried then checking if player object is null to return some kind of message like so:

    @Override
    public Optional<Player> getPlayerById(Long id) {
        Optional<Player> player = playerRepository.findById(id);
        if (player == null) { // warning
            //some message
            ;
        }

But when I wrote if statement I got a warning Condition 'player == null' is always 'false'
If the warning is true how do I get null from Postman ?

edit:
@Repository
public interface PlayerRepository extends JpaRepository<Player,
Long> {
}

pom.xml

<parent>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-parent</artifactId>
    <version>3.2.5</version>
    <relativePath/> <!-- lookup parent from repository -->
</parent>

Version of Hibernate ismanaged by the Spring Boot parent dependency right ?

>Solution :

In Java, the Optional type is used to represent a value that might be present or absent. It helps avoid null values by providing methods to handle the absence of a value more gracefully. For example:

Optional<String> name = Optional.of("John");
Optional<String> emptyName = Optional.empty();

if (name.isPresent()) {
    System.out.println("Name is present: " + name.get());
} else {
    System.out.println("Name is not present");
}

if (emptyName.isPresent()) {
    System.out.println("Name is present: " + emptyName.get());
} else {
    System.out.println("Name is not present");
}

You can use methods like isPresent(), ifPresent(), or orElse() to work with the value in a safe manner, reducing the risk of NullPointerException.

From the above problem , The issue you’re facing is due to a misunderstanding of how Optional works. An Optional object itself is never null; it either contains a value or is empty. When you get a null response in Postman, it might be due to how the response is being handled in your controller.

 PlayerController.java  

  
    import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
    import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
    import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
    import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PathVariable;
    import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
    import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;
    
    import java.util.Optional;
    
    @RestController
    @RequestMapping("/players")
    public class PlayerController {
    
        @Autowired
        private PlayerService playerService;
    
        @GetMapping("/{id}")
        public ResponseEntity<Player> getPlayer(@PathVariable Long id) {
            Optional<Player> player = playerService.getPlayerById(id);
            if (player.isPresent()) {
                return ResponseEntity.ok(player.get());
            } else {
                return ResponseEntity.notFound().build();
            }
        }
    }

Use of Optional as a return type in a Spring controllers, it’s not recommended. The primary reason is that Optional is intended for use within the application logic to handle the presence or absence of a value, not for use in API responses.

PlayerService.java


import java.util.List;
import java.util.Optional;

public interface PlayerService {
    List<Player> getAllPlayers();
    Optional<Player> getPlayerById(Long id);
}

==

PlayerServiceImpl.java

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;

import java.util.List;
import java.util.Optional;

@Service
public class PlayerServiceImpl implements PlayerService {

    @Autowired
    private PlayerRepository playerRepository;

    @Override
    public List<Player> getAllPlayers() {
        return playerRepository.findAll();
    }

    @Override
    public Optional<Player> getPlayerById(Long id) {
        Optional<Player> player = playerRepository.findById(id);
        if (player.isPresent()) {
            return player;
        } else {
            return Optional.empty();
        }
    }
}