Question

   /**
     * Returns the foo with the matching id in this list
     * 
     * @param id the id of the foo to return
     * @return the foo with the matching id in this list
     */
    public Foo getFoo(int id)
    {
        for (Foo foo : list)
        {
            if (foo.getID() == id)
            {
                return foo;
            }
        }

        return null;
    }

Instead of returning null when foo is not found, should I throw an exception? Does it matter, and is there a “best practices” idiom on the subject? By the way, I know my example is a bit contrived, but I hope you get the idea…

Thanks.

EDIT

Changed code to get Foo based on id to better illustrate a real-world scenario.

Answer 1

Returning null is not only more simple to handle, performs better too. The exceptions must be used to handle exceptional cases.