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Creating and customizing tables and datamediumMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped

SNOW-CAD Creating and customizing tables and data Practice Question

A developer writes a script to display the department name of the caller on a custom form. The script uses: gs.getUser().getDepartment().getName(). However, the script throws a null pointer exception for some users. Which is the most likely cause and solution?

Answer choices

Why each option matters

Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.

Correct answer & explanation

Some users do not have a department assigned, and the script does not check for null

The NullPointerException suggests that getDepartment() returned null for users without a department. Option A is wrong because the script is syntactically correct. Option B is wrong because reference exists. Option C is wrong because department records exist.

Answer analysis

Option-by-option breakdown

For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.

  • The Department table is empty

    Why it's wrong here

    If the department table is empty, getDepartment() would return null, but the error is specifically for some users, not all.

  • The script uses incorrect dot-walking syntax; use getValue('department') instead

    Why it's wrong here

    The dot-walking syntax is correct; gs.getUser().getDepartment().getName() is valid GlideRecord dot-walking.

  • The user table does not have a department reference field

    Why it's wrong here

    The sys_user table has a department reference field by default.

  • Some users do not have a department assigned, and the script does not check for null

    Why this is correct

    When getDepartment() returns null, calling getName() on null causes a NullPointerException. The solution is to add a null check before calling getName().

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