Just like java.util.Optional in Java 8 is (somewhat) equivalent to Scala\'s Option[T] type, is there an equivalent to Scala\'s Eithe
No, there is none.
Java language developers explicitly state that types like Option are intended to be used only as temporary values (e.g. in stream operations results), so while they are the same thing as in other languages, they are not supposed to be used as they are used in other languages. So it is not surprising that there is no such thing as Either because it does not arise naturally (e.g. from stream operations) like Optional does.