java.lang.NullPointerException: inStream parameter is null in my Maven Project

Question

I made a structure change in my project, and I am getting this error

Project Structure: enter image description here

the platform notifies me of the following error:

Step failed
java.lang.NullPointerException: inStream parameter is null
at java.base/java.util.Objects.requireNonNull(Objects.java:233)
at java.base/java.util.Properties.load(Properties.java:407)
at com.crm.framework.config.ConfigReader.ReadProperty(ConfigReader.java:19)
at com.crm.framework.config.ConfigReader.PopulateSettings(ConfigReader.java:11)
at steps.TestInitialize.Initialize(TestInitialize.java:21)

This is my ConfigReader, which is shown in the above error ConfigReader:

package com.crm.framework.config;
import com.crm.framework.base.BrowserType;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Properties;

public class ConfigReader {

public static void PopulateSettings() throws IOException {
    ConfigReader reader = new ConfigReader();
    reader.ReadProperty();
}


private void ReadProperty() throws IOException {
    //Create Property Object
    Properties p = new Properties();
    //Load the property file available in same package
    p.load(getClass().getResourceAsStream("GlobalConfig.properties"));
    //Get AUTConnection String
    Settings.AUTConnectionString = p.getProperty("AUTConnectionString");
    //Get Reporting String
    Settings.ReportingConnectionString = p.getProperty("ReportingConnectionString");
    //Get LogPath
    Settings.LogPath = p.getProperty("LogPath");
    //Get DriverType
    Settings.DriverType = p.getProperty("DriverType");
    //Get ExcelSheetPath
    Settings.ExcelSheetPath = p.getProperty("ExcelSheetPath");
    //Get AUT
    Settings.AUT = p.getProperty("AUT");
    //Browser Type
    Settings.BrowserType = BrowserType.valueOf(p.getProperty("BrowserType"));
}
}

I also attach the code of the TestInitialize, file that contains the @Before to run the test cases TestInitialize:

package steps;

import com.crm.framework.base.DriverContext;
import com.crm.framework.base.FrameworkInitialize;
import com.crm.framework.config.ConfigReader;
import com.crm.framework.config.Settings;
import com.crm.framework.utilities.LogUtil;
import io.cucumber.java.Before;


// import io.cucumber.java.Before;


import java.io.IOException;

public class TestInitialize extends FrameworkInitialize {

@Before
public void Initialize() throws IOException {
    //Initialize config
    ConfigReader.PopulateSettings();

    //Logging
    Settings.Logs = new LogUtil();
    Settings.Logs.CreateLogFile();
    Settings.Logs.Write("Framework initialize");

    //Create Test Cycle for Reporting
        /*
        Pending
         */

    Settings.Logs.Write("Test Cycle Created");
    InitializeBrowser(Settings.BrowserType);
    Settings.Logs.Write("Browser initialize");
    DriverContext.Browser.GotoUrl(Settings.AUT);
    Settings.Logs.Write("Navigate to URL: " + Settings.AUT);
}
}

Answer 1

Here is the most likely culprit: https://docs.oracle.com/javase/10/docs/api/java/util/Properties.html#getProperty(java.lang.String)

From Javadoc:

public String getProperty(String key)

Searches for the property with the specified key in this property list. If the key is not found in this property list, the default property list, and its defaults, recursively, are then checked. The method returns null if the property is not found .

Properties are case sensitive. Make sure that:

1. The property file you need exists, then
2. The property key inside the file exists and lastly
3. It is spelled out the exact same way it appears in the file.

As a failsafe, you could use getProperty(key, defaultValue) which it is similar to the one above, except that it returns the passed default value instead of null in cases where the property key being passed to the method doesn't exist in the given property file.

Also, make sure the PATH to the property file is correct. Understanding how file paths are resolved when running from IDE and from deploy environment could also be an issue if you don't understand how resources are resolved.