Java "?" Operator for checking null - What is it? (Not Ternary!)

Question

I was reading an article linked from a slashdot story, and came across this little tidbit:

Take the latest version of Java, which tries to make null-pointer checking easier by offering shorthand syntax for the endless pointer testing. Just adding a question mark to each method invocation automatically includes a test for null pointers, replacing a rat's nest of if-then statements, such as:

    public String getPostcode(Person person) {
      String ans= null;
      if (person != null) {
        Name nm= person.getName();
        if (nm!= null) {
          ans= nm.getPostcode();
        }
      }
      return ans
    } 

With this:

public String getFirstName(Person person) {
      return person?.getName()?.getGivenName();
    } 

I've scoured the internet (okay, I spent at least 15 minutes googling variations on "java question mark") and got nothing. So, my question: is there any official documentation on this? I found that C# has a similar operator (the "??" operator), but I'd like to get the documentation for the language I'm working in. Or, is this just a use of the ternary operator that I've never seen before.

Thanks!

EDIT: Link to the article: http://infoworld.com/d/developer-world/12-programming-mistakes-avoid-292

Answer 1

The original idea comes from groovy. It was proposed for Java 7 as part of Project Coin: https://wiki.openjdk.java.net/display/Coin/2009+Proposals+TOC (Elvis and Other Null-Safe Operators), but hasn't been accepted yet.

The related Elvis operator ?: was proposed to make x ?: y shorthand for x != null ? x : y, especially useful when x is a complex expression.