Does equals null safe Java?

The equals() method of StringUtils class is a null-safe version of the equals() method of String class , which also handles null values.

equalsIgnoreCase(null); will definitely result in a NullPointerException . So equals methods are not designed to test whether an object is null, just because you can’t invoke them on null .

It’s entirely possible for two distinct object instances to be “equal” according to their contract. And then there’s the minor detail that since equals is a method, if you try to invoke it on a null reference, you’ll get a NullPointerException .