string - Java equals() ordering

Question

If I try to do a .equals() on a null string in java, a null pointer exception will be thrown. I am wondering, if I am trying to compare if a string is equal to some constant string, can I do the following:

MY_CONSTANT_STRING.equals(aStringVariable)

I know it will work, but is this just really poor code?

Answer 1

This is a standard Java idiom jokingly called a Yoda condition.

Personally I prefer to handle the null case explicitly, but the Yoda way is used a lot and any experienced Java programmer should be able to understand what is going on immediately. It's fine to use.