Why do I get a NullPointerException when comparing a String with null?
java, nullpointerexception
Solution
Use
stringVariable == null
To test whether `stringVariable` is `null`.
The `equals` method (and every other method) requires `stringVariable` to not be `null`.
Problem
My code is breaking on the following line with a nullpointerexception: ``` if (stringVariable.equals(null)){ ``` Previous to this statement, I declare the stringVariable and set it to a database field. In this statement, I am trying to detect if the field had a `null` value, but unfortunately it breaks! Any thoughts?