How to Check whether Bigdecimal value is zero or not in Java

Sometimes, , it becomes necessary to check whether a BigDecimal value is zero or not. A BigDecimal is considered zero if it can store values like 0, 0.0, or 0.00, among others. To check whether a BigDecimal object is zero, the enum constant BigDecimal.ZERO representing 0 with zero scales can be utilized.

#How do you check whether BigDecimal is zero or not in java

There are multiple ways to check whether BigDecimal is zero or not in java.

• equals
• compareTo
• signum

Let’s see the difference between those three methods

• equals method

  The equals method compares a BigDecimal with BigDecimal.ZERO and returns a boolean value. It does not consider the scale for equality testing. Here’s an example:

        public boolean equals(Object x)
  

  • “0”.equals(BigDecimal.ZERO) returns true and there is no scale in the given object
  • ”0.0”.equals(BigDecimal.ZERO) returns false and equals method does not check
  • ”0.00”.equals(BigDecimal.ZERO) returns false and equals method does not use scale for equality.

  Here is a BigDecimal equals check for zero or not.

  import java.math.BigDecimal;
  
  public class BigDecimalTest {
      public static void main(String[] args) {
          BigDecimal bd = new BigDecimal(0);
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0").equals(BigDecimal.ZERO));// true);
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0.0").equals(BigDecimal.ZERO));// false
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0.00").equals(BigDecimal.ZERO));// false
  
      }
  }
  

• compareTo method

  The compareTo method checks both the zero value and zero scale value, returning 0 if both BigDecimal objects are zero.

  It is null-safe and more readable than the equals method. Syntax:

      public int compareTo(BigDecimal val)
  

  This method returns 0, if both BigDecimal objects are zero, else return integer other zero.

  It returns 0 for all the below cases.

  • ”0”.compareTo(BigDecimal.ZERO)
  • “0.0”.compareTo(BigDecimal.ZERO)
  • “0.00”.compareTo(BigDecimal.ZERO)

  Here’s an example:

  import java.math.BigDecimal;
  
  public class BigDecimalTest {
      public static void main(String[] args) {
          BigDecimal bd = new BigDecimal(0);
  
  
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0").compareTo(BigDecimal.ZERO) == 0);// true;
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0.0").compareTo(BigDecimal.ZERO) == 0);// true
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0.00").compareTo(BigDecimal.ZERO) == 0);// true
  
      }
  }
  

• Signum method

  The signum method returns the signum of a BigDecimal object, indicating -1, 0, or 1. While it is not null-safe and throws a NullPointerException, it can be used for checking if the value is zero.

      public int signum()
  

  It returns possible values -1,0,1. Example:

  import java.math.BigDecimal;
  
  public class BigDecimalTest {
      public static void main(String[] args) {
          BigDecimal bd = new BigDecimal(0);
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0").signum() == 0);// true;
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0.0").signum() == 0);// true;
          System.out.println(new BigDecimal("0.00").signum() == 0);// true;
  
      }
  }
  

#Conclusion

In conclusion, there are multiple ways to check if a given BigDecimal object is zero. The method is less considerate of scale, the method is null-safe and more readable, while the signum method is not null-safe and less readable. Choose the method that best suits your need.