Java Programming for Complete Beginners - Java 16 - Step 12 - Optional class in Java - an Introduction

The video tutorial introduces the concept of Optional in Java 8, highlighting its role in preventing null pointer exceptions. It explains how Optional can be used as a return type to indicate the presence or absence of a value, thus avoiding null returns. Through examples, the tutorial demonstrates filtering even numbers from a list using streams and finding the maximum value with Optional. It also covers handling empty Optionals by assigning default values. The session concludes with a brief overview of the next topic, lambda expressions.

Explain how the 'orElse' method works with Optional.

In what scenarios would you prefer using Optional over returning null?