Question

I have some simple logic to check if the field is valid:

private boolean isValidIfRequired(Object value) {
    return
        (required && !isEmpty(value)) || !required;
}

it tells that the field is valid if it’s either required and not empty or not required.

I don’t like this required || !required part. Something with just required would be better.
How do I simplify this method to make it more readable and simple?

Answer 1

How ’bout:

private boolean isValidIfRequired(Object value) {
    return !required || !isEmpty(value);
}

or (thanks, @Peter Lawrey)

private boolean isValidIfRequired(Object value) {
    return !(required && isEmpty(value));
}

In either case, if required is false, the || or && expression will short-circuit and isEmpty will never be called. If required is true, the second half of the || or && will be evaluated, calling isEmpty and returning the (inverted) result of that call.