What does NPE mean in COMPUTING

A Null Pointer Exception (NPE) is an exception that occurs when a program attempts to access an object or member variable that does not exist. It is usually caused by incorrect or incomplete coding that references something null, rather than an existing object or member variable.

This type of error is typically caused by referencing a null pointer within the code. For example, if a method expects an object as a parameter but it receives a null value instead, it will often throw a NPE. Other causes can be attempting to invoke methods on objects not yet instantiated, trying to access fields of objects not yet initialized, and dereferencing null returned from methods.

The best way to avoid NPEs is to use proper coding practices and avoid referencing uninitialized variables and passing null values as parameters. Additionally, implementing checks for conditions where there could be potential for NPEs may help reduce the likelihood of such exceptions occurring in your code.

When debugging these types of errors, it's important to understand why they are happening and how they can be prevented in the future. Generally speaking, start with examining the line of code where the exception occurred and then trace through preceding statements leading up to the point of failure. This should provide insight into what exactly caused the issue as well as help identify any underlying issues which might need fixing before further progress can be made.

Java’s “NullPointerException” indicates that the application has attempted to use or access an object whose reference was set to 'null'. In other words, either a local variable or parameter passed in was never initialized while writing its code or even after initializing there must have been some changes done in application logic that left their references pointing towards NULL without having any valid object reference associated with them.

When dealing with “java.lang.NullPointerException” errors look at where the exception has occurred in order to determine why exactly it happened and what needs to be resolved before further attempting progress can be made. Generally speaking, it would involve identifying which objects were being referenced when the error occurred and re-examining their initialization process as well as checking for any underlying issues causing them to become uninitialized in certain scenarios prior proceeding further with debugging efforts.

Attempting assign anything including values via assignment operator (=) results into ‘java.lang.NullPointerException’ due incompatible operations being done on objects with no valid reference associated; all though such kind of operations may look valid from syntax point view but still aren’t logically allowable one if reference isn't valid.

Yes, you can catch these exceptions using try-catch block supplied by languages like Java in order catch different type/classes exceptions generated during execution flow eases while debugging efforts.