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Or use the null object pattern. Then you can write code that "just works"; kind of a higher level version of a nop.

The Null Object pattern is The Correct Answer (for Java like languages).

Java's Optional is a bad idea implemented badly made even more bad by bad usage.

Option is a takeoff of the Null Object pattern.

Option(null).map(str => str + "!").foreach(str => println(str)) is a noop.

Yeah, the Null Object Pattern is just optionals except you have to re-implement it each you need optional semantics.

No. They're opposites.

"...an object which implements the expected interface, but whose method body is empty. "