If a Payload filter tests for type java.lang.String and the payload is null, what happens?

• A. All subsequent message processors are skipped.
• B. Processing continues normally.
• C. An exception is thrown.
• D. The payload is converted to an empty string.

Answer: (A)

A payload/type check only passes when the payload is actually an instance of the requested type. A null value is not an instance of String, so the test fails. When a filter evaluates to false, the message does not continue through the subsequent processors on that path, so those processors are effectively skipped. There’s no automatic conversion or exception unless you’ve explicitly configured error handling; the flow simply halts at that filter path. If you want to handle nulls, add a separate branch or pre-check to provide a default or alternative path.