JDK-8178832 has shown that System.getProperty(String) may throw NullPointerException not only because the property name passed to it is null, but also as a result of calling it too early in the VM bootstrap sequence. Such exceptions should not be silently swallowed as they mask bugs. Normal flow control should generally not be based on exceptions, so Boolean.getBoolean, Integet.getInteger and Long.getLong should be fixed.