public static <T> T checkNotNull(T reference) {
		if (reference == null) {
			throw new IllegalArgumentException();
		}
		return reference;
	}
Ensures that an object reference passed as a parameter to the calling method is not null.

@param <T>       type
@param reference an object reference
@return the non-null reference that was validated
ngrinder-core/src/main/java/org/ngrinder/common/util/Preconditions.java