Different ways to create Optional objects in Java 8

 In Java 8, Optional<T> is a container object used to represent the presence or absence of a value. It's commonly used to avoid null checks and NullPointerException. 

Below are different ways to create an Optional object in Java 8:

1. Using Optional.of(T value)

Creates an Optional with a non-null value.

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

🔴 Throws NullPointerException if name is null.

2. Using Optional.ofNullable(T value)

Creates an Optional that may hold a null value.

String name = getName(); // could return null
Optional<String> optional = Optional.ofNullable(name);

✅ Safe way to wrap possibly null values.

3. Using Optional.empty()

Creates an explicitly empty Optional.

Optional<String> optional = Optional.empty();

✅ Used to represent absence of a value clearly.

4. Using Optional with Streams

Create optional from stream using terminal operation like findFirst() or findAny():

List<String> names = Arrays.asList("Alice", "Bob", "Charlie");
Optional<String> firstName = names.stream().findFirst();

5. Using Optional with filter, map, etc.

Creating or modifying optionals using functional operations:

Optional<String> optional = Optional.of("test")
        .filter(s -> s.length() > 2)
        .map(String::toUpperCase);

6. Wrapping a method return

If a method might return null, you can wrap the return value:

public Optional<String> getUserName(User user) {
    return Optional.ofNullable(user.getName());
}