You can also do:

expectedPackageRepository.findById(1).ifPresent(
    ep -> {
        ep.setDateModified(new Date());
        expectedPackageRepository.saveAndFlush(ep);
    }
);

Ideally, you would also extract the part between brackets ({}) to a separate method. Then, you could write like this:

    expectedPackageRepository.findById(1).ifPresent(this::doSomethingWithEp);

Where:

void doSomethingWithEp(ExpectedPackage ep) {
    ep.setDateModified(new Date());
    expectedPackageRepository.saveAndFlush(ep);
}

You can read the documentation of ifPresent here: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/util/Optional.html#ifPresent-java.util.function.Consumer-

As it states, it will perform the specified action if the value is present and do nothing otherwise.

Short Answer:

• orElse() will always call the given function whether you want it or not, regardless of Optional.isPresent() value
• orElseGet() will only call the given function when the Optional.isPresent() == false

In real code, you might want to consider the second approach when the required resource is expensive to get.

Copy// Always get heavy resource
getResource(resourceId).orElse(getHeavyResource()); 

// Get heavy resource when required.
getResource(resourceId).orElseGet(() -> getHeavyResource()) 

For more details, consider the following example with this function:

Copypublic Optional<String> findMyPhone(int phoneId)

The difference is as below:

Copy                           X : buyNewExpensivePhone() called

+——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————+——————————————+
|           Optional.isPresent()                                   | true | false |
+——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————+——————————————+
| findMyPhone(int phoneId).orElse(buyNewExpensivePhone())          |   X  |   X   |
+——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————+——————————————+
| findMyPhone(int phoneId).orElseGet(() -> buyNewExpensivePhone()) |      |   X   |
+——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————+——————————————+

When optional.isPresent() == false, there is no difference between two ways. However, when optional.isPresent() == true, orElse() always calls the subsequent function whether you want it or not.

Finally, the test case used is as below:

Result:

Copy------------- Scenario 1 - orElse() --------------------
  1.1. Optional.isPresent() == true (Redundant call)
    Going to a very far store to buy a new expensive phone
    Used phone: MyCheapPhone

  1.2. Optional.isPresent() == false
    Going to a very far store to buy a new expensive phone
    Used phone: NewExpensivePhone

------------- Scenario 2 - orElseGet() --------------------
  2.1. Optional.isPresent() == true
    Used phone: MyCheapPhone

  2.2. Optional.isPresent() == false
    Going to a very far store to buy a new expensive phone
    Used phone: NewExpensivePhone

Code:

Copypublic class TestOptional {
    public Optional<String> findMyPhone(int phoneId) {
        return phoneId == 10
                ? Optional.of("MyCheapPhone")
                : Optional.empty();
    }

    public String buyNewExpensivePhone() {
        System.out.println("\tGoing to a very far store to buy a new expensive phone");
        return "NewExpensivePhone";
    }


    public static void main(String[] args) {
        TestOptional test = new TestOptional();
        String phone;
        System.out.println("------------- Scenario 1 - orElse() --------------------");
        System.out.println("  1.1. Optional.isPresent() == true (Redundant call)");
        phone = test.findMyPhone(10).orElse(test.buyNewExpensivePhone());
        System.out.println("\tUsed phone: " + phone + "\n");

        System.out.println("  1.2. Optional.isPresent() == false");
        phone = test.findMyPhone(-1).orElse(test.buyNewExpensivePhone());
        System.out.println("\tUsed phone: " + phone + "\n");

        System.out.println("------------- Scenario 2 - orElseGet() --------------------");
        System.out.println("  2.1. Optional.isPresent() == true");
        // Can be written as test::buyNewExpensivePhone
        phone = test.findMyPhone(10).orElseGet(() -> test.buyNewExpensivePhone());
        System.out.println("\tUsed phone: " + phone + "\n");

        System.out.println("  2.2. Optional.isPresent() == false");
        phone = test.findMyPhone(-1).orElseGet(() -> test.buyNewExpensivePhone());
        System.out.println("\tUsed phone: " + phone + "\n");
    }
}

Optional harnesses the type system for doing work that you'd otherwise have to do all in your head: remembering whether or not a given reference may be null. This is good. It's always smart to let the compiler handle boring drugework, and reserve human thought for creative, interesting work.

Without Optional, every reference in your code is like an unexploded bomb. Accessing it may do something useful, or else it may terminate your program wth an exception.

With Optional and without null, every access to a normal reference succeeds, and every reference to an Optional succeeds unless it's unset and you failed to check for that. That is a huge win in maintainability.

Unfortunately, most languages that now offer Optional haven't abolished null, so you can only profit from the concept by instituting a strict policy of "absolutely no null, ever". Therefore, Optional in e.g. Java is not as compelling as it should ideally be.

This is part of JDK 9 in the form of method or, which takes a Supplier<Optional<T>>. Your example would then be:

return serviceA(args)
    .or(() -> serviceB(args))
    .or(() -> serviceC(args));

For details see the Javadoc, this post I wrote, or ticket JDK-8080418 where this method was introduced.