Using Java Optionals in the Service Layer

Using the Java java.util.Optional with Lambda Expression can improve readability in the service layer. Let's have a look at the following two snippets:

The first sample is the classical null check. Find a purchaser orElseThrow an exception. The java.util.function.Supplier is implemented as a lambda expression.

public Purchaser findPurchaserByInitials(String initials) {
  Optional<Purchaser> purchaser = purchaserRepository.findPurchaserByInitials(initials);
  return purchaser.orElseThrow(
      () -> new NotFoundException("The purchaser was not found for initials: " + initials));
}

The second sample is about providing a reasonable fallback if no result is present. Use the existing result orElseGet() an new empty order basket. Again very readable result with a lambda expression.

public OrderBasket findOrCreateOrderBasketFor(String initials) {
  Optional<OrderBasket> result = orderBasketService.findOrderBasketByPurchaser(purchaser);
  return result.orElseGet(() -> orderBasketService.createEmptyOrderBasket(purchaser));
}

IMHO both snippets improved readability when compared to implementations with pre-Java 8 if-statements.