Assuming I have a data class like this

data class PersonDTO(
    val id: Long?,
    val firstName: String,
    val lastName: String,
)

which I then persist in the database on this entity

@Entity
@Table(name = "person")
class Person(
    @Column(name = "first_name", nullable = true)
    var firstName: String? = null,

    @Column(name = "last_name", nullable = true)
    var lastName: String? = null,
) {
    @Id
    @GeneratedValue(strategy = GenerationType.IDENTITY)
    val id: Long = 0
}

like so

personRepository.save(
    Person(
        firstName = personDto.firstName,
        lastName = personDto.lastName
    )
)

Since firstName and lastName are nullable, I want the data class PersonDTO to behave the following way: If firstName is of length === 0, return null for firstName (and the same for lastName).

Is there a way to achieve this?