Attempt to de-reference a null object when using alternative to getGlobalDescribe

Question

In the following code

String myString = 'Account'; 
SObjectType sObjType = ((SObject) Type.forName(myString).newInstance()).getSObjectType();

When myString = a object name does not exist i get a NullPointerException: Attempt to de-reference a null object.

Is there any way to check this before getting this error without using Schema.getGlobalDescribe() ?

speed comparison between above and getXXDescribe methods

Answer 1

The problem is an invalid (or null) return on the Type class using forName.

You need to validate the return of forName before looking to cast into an SObjectType

String myString = 'InvalidClass'; 
Type classType = Type.forName(myString);

SObjectType sObjType;

if (classType != null) {
    sObjType = ((SObject) classType.newInstance()).getSObjectType();
}