Null pointer exception when clearing a JavaFX combobox [duplicate] - javafx

Question

This question already has answers here:
What is a NullPointerException, and how do I fix it?
(12 answers)
Closed 5 years ago.
I have a comboBox object defined as follows:
ObservableList<String> workflowsComboList = FXCollections.observableArrayList();
ComboBox<String> comboBoxWorkflows = new ComboBox<String>(workflowsComboList);
The workflowsComboList list is populated with certain options depending on user's input. Then, when user inputs changes, I need to reset the list and add new options to the combobox. In order to do that I run:
workflowsComboList.clear();
At this point, if there is no value selected in the combobox, .clear() works fine. However, if there is a value selected, it throws a null pointer exception.
I assume the error is caused because I'm deleting the selected element in the combobox, so I have attempted to un-select the selected item before clearing the list, but none of the methods I've tried seem to work, including:
comboBoxWorkflows.setValue(null);
comboBoxWorkflows.getSelectionModel().clearSelection();
comboBoxWorkflows.valueProperty().set(null);
Am I mistaken in assuming this is the cause of the exception? Or, if I'm right, what's the right way to unselect an element in a combobox?
EDIT:
The exception seems to occur when I invoke .clear(). If I do:
System.out.println("List contents: " + list.toString());
try{
System.out.println(“About to clear”);
workflowsComboList.clear();
System.out.println("List successfully cleared.")
catch (Exception e){
System.out.println("Exception: " + e);
}
I get:
List contents: [item1, item2, item3]
About to clear.
Exception in thread "JavaFX Application Thread" java.lang.NullPointerException...
...
List successfully cleared.
Here's the complete stack trace:
Exception in thread "JavaFX Application Thread" java.lang.NullPointerException
at javafx_uitabpane.Javafx_uitabpane$11.handle(Javafx_uitabpane.java:738)
at javafx_uitabpane.Javafx_uitabpane$11.handle(Javafx_uitabpane.java:1)
at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:86)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:238)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:191)
at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventDispatcher.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventDispatcher.java:59)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:58)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEventImpl(EventUtil.java:74)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEvent(EventUtil.java:49)
at javafx.event.Event.fireEvent(Event.java:198)
at javafx.scene.Node.fireEvent(Node.java:8413)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.ComboBoxListViewSkin.handleControlPropertyChanged(ComboBoxListViewSkin.java:179)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.BehaviorSkinBase.lambda$registerChangeListener$61(BehaviorSkinBase.java:197)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.MultiplePropertyChangeListenerHandler$1.changed(MultiplePropertyChangeListenerHandler.java:55)
at javafx.beans.value.WeakChangeListener.changed(WeakChangeListener.java:89)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper$Generic.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:361)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:81)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.fireValueChangedEvent(ObjectPropertyBase.java:105)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.markInvalid(ObjectPropertyBase.java:112)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.set(ObjectPropertyBase.java:146)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBoxBase.setValue(ComboBoxBase.java:150)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox.updateValue(ComboBox.java:463)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox.access$200(ComboBox.java:192)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox$3.changed(ComboBox.java:446)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper$Generic.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:361)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:81)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyObjectPropertyBase.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyObjectPropertyBase.java:74)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyObjectWrapper.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyObjectWrapper.java:102)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.markInvalid(ObjectPropertyBase.java:112)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.set(ObjectPropertyBase.java:146)
at javafx.scene.control.SelectionModel.setSelectedItem(SelectionModel.java:102)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox$ComboBoxSelectionModel.lambda$new$154(ComboBox.java:494)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper$SingleInvalidation.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:137)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:81)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyIntegerPropertyBase.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyIntegerPropertyBase.java:72)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyIntegerWrapper.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyIntegerWrapper.java:102)
at javafx.beans.property.IntegerPropertyBase.markInvalid(IntegerPropertyBase.java:113)
at javafx.beans.property.IntegerPropertyBase.set(IntegerPropertyBase.java:147)
at javafx.scene.control.SelectionModel.setSelectedIndex(SelectionModel.java:68)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox$ComboBoxSelectionModel$2.onChanged(ComboBox.java:524)
at javafx.collections.WeakListChangeListener.onChanged(WeakListChangeListener.java:88)
at com.sun.javafx.collections.ListListenerHelper$Generic.fireValueChangedEvent(ListListenerHelper.java:329)
at com.sun.javafx.collections.ListListenerHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ListListenerHelper.java:73)
at javafx.collections.ObservableListBase.fireChange(ObservableListBase.java:233)
at javafx.collections.ListChangeBuilder.commit(ListChangeBuilder.java:482)
at javafx.collections.ListChangeBuilder.endChange(ListChangeBuilder.java:541)
at javafx.collections.ObservableListBase.endChange(ObservableListBase.java:205)
at com.sun.javafx.collections.ObservableListWrapper.clear(ObservableListWrapper.java:157)
at javafx_uitabpane.Javafx_uitabpane$10.handle(Javafx_uitabpane.java:706)
at javafx_uitabpane.Javafx_uitabpane$10.handle(Javafx_uitabpane.java:1)
at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:86)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:238)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:191)
at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventDispatcher.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventDispatcher.java:59)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:58)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEventImpl(EventUtil.java:74)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEvent(EventUtil.java:49)
at javafx.event.Event.fireEvent(Event.java:198)
at javafx.scene.Node.fireEvent(Node.java:8413)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.ComboBoxListViewSkin.handleControlPropertyChanged(ComboBoxListViewSkin.java:179)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.BehaviorSkinBase.lambda$registerChangeListener$61(BehaviorSkinBase.java:197)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.MultiplePropertyChangeListenerHandler$1.changed(MultiplePropertyChangeListenerHandler.java:55)
at javafx.beans.value.WeakChangeListener.changed(WeakChangeListener.java:89)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper$Generic.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:361)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:81)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.fireValueChangedEvent(ObjectPropertyBase.java:105)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.markInvalid(ObjectPropertyBase.java:112)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.set(ObjectPropertyBase.java:146)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBoxBase.setValue(ComboBoxBase.java:150)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox.updateValue(ComboBox.java:463)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox.access$200(ComboBox.java:192)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox$3.changed(ComboBox.java:446)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper$Generic.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:361)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:81)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyObjectPropertyBase.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyObjectPropertyBase.java:74)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyObjectWrapper.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyObjectWrapper.java:102)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.markInvalid(ObjectPropertyBase.java:112)
at javafx.beans.property.ObjectPropertyBase.set(ObjectPropertyBase.java:146)
at javafx.scene.control.SelectionModel.setSelectedItem(SelectionModel.java:102)
at javafx.scene.control.ComboBox$ComboBoxSelectionModel.lambda$new$154(ComboBox.java:494)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper$SingleInvalidation.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:137)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:81)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyIntegerPropertyBase.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyIntegerPropertyBase.java:72)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyIntegerWrapper.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyIntegerWrapper.java:102)
at javafx.beans.property.IntegerPropertyBase.markInvalid(IntegerPropertyBase.java:113)
at javafx.beans.property.IntegerPropertyBase.set(IntegerPropertyBase.java:147)
at javafx.scene.control.SelectionModel.setSelectedIndex(SelectionModel.java:68)
at javafx.scene.control.SingleSelectionModel.updateSelectedIndex(SingleSelectionModel.java:215)
at javafx.scene.control.SingleSelectionModel.select(SingleSelectionModel.java:149)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.ComboBoxListViewSkin.lambda$createListView$323(ComboBoxListViewSkin.java:484)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper$Generic.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:349)
at com.sun.javafx.binding.ExpressionHelper.fireValueChangedEvent(ExpressionHelper.java:81)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyIntegerPropertyBase.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyIntegerPropertyBase.java:72)
at javafx.beans.property.ReadOnlyIntegerWrapper.fireValueChangedEvent(ReadOnlyIntegerWrapper.java:102)
at javafx.beans.property.IntegerPropertyBase.markInvalid(IntegerPropertyBase.java:113)
at javafx.beans.property.IntegerPropertyBase.set(IntegerPropertyBase.java:147)
at javafx.scene.control.SelectionModel.setSelectedIndex(SelectionModel.java:68)
at javafx.scene.control.MultipleSelectionModelBase.select(MultipleSelectionModelBase.java:404)
at javafx.scene.control.MultipleSelectionModelBase.clearAndSelect(MultipleSelectionModelBase.java:356)
at javafx.scene.control.ListView$ListViewBitSetSelectionModel.clearAndSelect(ListView.java:1403)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.behavior.CellBehaviorBase.simpleSelect(CellBehaviorBase.java:256)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.behavior.CellBehaviorBase.doSelect(CellBehaviorBase.java:220)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.behavior.CellBehaviorBase.mousePressed(CellBehaviorBase.java:150)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.BehaviorSkinBase$1.handle(BehaviorSkinBase.java:95)
at com.sun.javafx.scene.control.skin.BehaviorSkinBase$1.handle(BehaviorSkinBase.java:89)
at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler$NormalEventHandlerRecord.handleBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:218)
at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventHandler.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventHandler.java:80)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:238)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventHandlerManager.dispatchBubblingEvent(EventHandlerManager.java:191)
at com.sun.javafx.event.CompositeEventDispatcher.dispatchBubblingEvent(CompositeEventDispatcher.java:59)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:58)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.BasicEventDispatcher.dispatchEvent(BasicEventDispatcher.java:56)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventDispatchChainImpl.dispatchEvent(EventDispatchChainImpl.java:114)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEventImpl(EventUtil.java:74)
at com.sun.javafx.event.EventUtil.fireEvent(EventUtil.java:54)
at javafx.event.Event.fireEvent(Event.java:198)
at javafx.scene.Scene$MouseHandler.process(Scene.java:3757)
at javafx.scene.Scene$MouseHandler.access$1500(Scene.java:3485)
at javafx.scene.Scene.impl_processMouseEvent(Scene.java:1762)
at javafx.scene.Scene$ScenePeerListener.mouseEvent(Scene.java:2494)
at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler$MouseEventNotification.run(GlassViewEventHandler.java:381)
at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler$MouseEventNotification.run(GlassViewEventHandler.java:295)
at java.security.AccessController.doPrivileged(Native Method)
at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler.lambda$handleMouseEvent$354(GlassViewEventHandler.java:417)
at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.QuantumToolkit.runWithoutRenderLock(QuantumToolkit.java:389)
at com.sun.javafx.tk.quantum.GlassViewEventHandler.handleMouseEvent(GlassViewEventHandler.java:416)
at com.sun.glass.ui.View.handleMouseEvent(View.java:555)
at com.sun.glass.ui.View.notifyMouse(View.java:937)
at com.sun.glass.ui.win.WinApplication._runLoop(Native Method)
at com.sun.glass.ui.win.WinApplication.lambda$null$148(WinApplication.java:191)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

Answer 1

I assume the error is caused because I'm deleting the selected element in the ComboBox.
You may need to re-examine this assumption. Starting from this example, I added the following buttons to clear and restore the ObservableList model. As no error occurs, irrespective of the selection, you'll need to look elsewhere for the cause of the exception.
Button clear = new Button("Clear");
clear.setOnAction((action) -> {
options.clear();
});
Button restore = new Button("Restore");
restore.setOnAction((action) -> {
options.clear();
options.addAll(Venue.values());
comboBox.getSelectionModel().selectLast();
});
dialogPane.setContent(new VBox(8, textField, datePicker, comboBox, clear, restore));

Answer 2

If you bind the ComboBox Selection to another variable, make sure that you handle a Null value.

Answer 3

I think you may need to remove observable list from your comboBox
comboBoxWorkflows .getItems().removeAll( workflowsComboList);