[topspin]

> Realistically, null is so fundamental to the Java language that removing it would...

Again, as jayd16 pointed out a solution has been retrofitted to C#, Java's great nemesis. I don't accept the argument that this is somehow infeasible. Just make null assignments (including potential ones coming from libraries) an error and allow this feature to be scoped to your source files. Eventually the practice becomes ubiquitous. It's been done again and again in many languages and their various 'strict' modes.

The only actual problem here is that Java language developers aren't feeling sufficient pressure to address it. They should, but they're not, and that's sad. That sort of sadness is a common theme with Java.