eliminate an hidden npe risk in current develop branch.

[zhaoyangyingmu]

What this PR does / why we need it:

This PR eliminate a hidden npe risk mentioned in #8777.

Which issue(s) this PR closes:

• Closes #8777

Special notes for your reviewer:

public boolean isEmpty() {
        return ((abbreviation==null || abbreviation.getValue()==null || abbreviation.getValue().trim().equals(""))
            && (affiliation==null || affiliation.getValue()==null || affiliation.getValue().trim().equals(""))
            && (logo==null || logo.getValue()==null || logo.getValue().trim().equals(""))
            && (name==null || name.getValue()==null || name.getValue().trim().equals(""))
            && (url==null || url.getValue()==null || url.getValue().trim().equals("")));
    }

When abbreviation.getValue()==null, the datafield will be regarded as empty. Suggestions on how to test this: N/A Does this PR introduce a user interface change? If mockups are available, please link/include them here: Nope. Is there a release notes update needed for this change?: N/A Additional documentation: N/A

[scolapasta]

Moving back to community dev until we here back from @zhaoyangyingmu

[pdurbin]

@zhaoyangyingmu did you see the review by @scolapasta above?

Also, instead of making a pull request from a branch called "develop" (which can cause trouble for us when we check it out on our laptops), if you're still interested in getting this merged can you please create a new PR from a branch called something like "8777-npe"?

Finally, I see you wrote "N/A" under "Suggestions on how to test this" but we would actually appreciate whatever guidance you can provide on how to reproduce the bug.

[pdurbin]

@zhaoyangyingmu just checking in. Should we close this? Or are you still interested? Thanks.

[scolapasta]

If you are still interested in this PR, can you please merge and resolve any merge conflicts with the latest from develop? If so, we can prioritize reviewing and QAing the changes. If we don’t hear from you by May 22, 2024, we’ll go ahead and close this PR (it can always be reopened after that date, if there is still interest).

[pdurbin]

If we don’t hear from you by May 22, 2024, we’ll go ahead and close this PR (it can always be reopened after that date, if there is still interest).

Closing.