Showing 85 of 85 total issues
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException();
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- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException(e);
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Replace this use of System.out or System.err by a logger. Open
private final PrintStream sysOut = System.out;
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- Exclude checks
When logging a message there are several important requirements which must be fulfilled:
- The user must be able to easily retrieve the logs
- The format of all logged message must be uniform to allow the user to easily read the log
- Logged data must actually be recorded
- Sensitive data must only be logged securely
If a program directly writes to the standard outputs, there is absolutely no way to comply with those requirements. That's why defining and using a dedicated logger is highly recommended.
Noncompliant Code Example
System.out.println("My Message"); // Noncompliant
Compliant Solution
logger.log("My Message");
See
- CERT, ERR02-J. - Prevent exceptions while logging data
Return an empty collection instead of null. Open
return null;
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- Exclude checks
Returning null
instead of an actual array or collection forces callers of the method to explicitly test for nullity, making them more
complex and less readable.
Moreover, in many cases, null
is used as a synonym for empty.
Noncompliant Code Example
public static List<Result> getResults() { return null; // Noncompliant } public static Result[] getResults() { return null; // Noncompliant } public static void main(String[] args) { Result[] results = getResults(); if (results != null) { // Nullity test required to prevent NPE for (Result result: results) { /* ... */ } } }
Compliant Solution
public static List<Result> getResults() { return Collections.emptyList(); // Compliant } public static Result[] getResults() { return new Result[0]; } public static void main(String[] args) { for (Result result: getResults()) { /* ... */ } }
See
- CERT, MSC19-C. - For functions that return an array, prefer returning an empty array over a null value
- CERT, MET55-J. - Return an empty array or collection instead of a null value for methods that return an array or collection
Add a private constructor to hide the implicit public one. Open
final class Utility {
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Utility classes, which are collections of static
members, are not meant to be instantiated. Even abstract utility classes, which can
be extended, should not have public constructors.
Java adds an implicit public constructor to every class which does not define at least one explicitly. Hence, at least one non-public constructor should be defined.
Noncompliant Code Example
class StringUtils { // Noncompliant public static String concatenate(String s1, String s2) { return s1 + s2; } }
Compliant Solution
class StringUtils { // Compliant private StringUtils() { throw new IllegalStateException("Utility class"); } public static String concatenate(String s1, String s2) { return s1 + s2; } }
Exceptions
When class contains public static void main(String[] args)
method it is not considered as utility class and will be ignored by this
rule.
Define a constant instead of duplicating this literal "Foo {}" 3 times. Open
test(AgParser::classDeclaration, "Foo {}");
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- Exclude checks
Duplicated string literals make the process of refactoring error-prone, since you must be sure to update all occurrences.
On the other hand, constants can be referenced from many places, but only need to be updated in a single place.
Noncompliant Code Example
With the default threshold of 3:
public void run() { prepare("action1"); // Noncompliant - "action1" is duplicated 3 times execute("action1"); release("action1"); } @SuppressWarning("all") // Compliant - annotations are excluded private void method1() { /* ... */ } @SuppressWarning("all") private void method2() { /* ... */ } public String method3(String a) { System.out.println("'" + a + "'"); // Compliant - literal "'" has less than 5 characters and is excluded return ""; // Compliant - literal "" has less than 5 characters and is excluded }
Compliant Solution
private static final String ACTION_1 = "action1"; // Compliant public void run() { prepare(ACTION_1); // Compliant execute(ACTION_1); release(ACTION_1); }
Exceptions
To prevent generating some false-positives, literals having less than 5 characters are excluded.
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException(e);
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Merge this if statement with the enclosing one. Open
if (parsedTypeNames.get(pkg).contains(head)) {
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Merging collapsible if
statements increases the code's readability.
Noncompliant Code Example
if (file != null) { if (file.isFile() || file.isDirectory()) { /* ... */ } }
Compliant Solution
if (file != null && isFileOrDirectory(file)) { /* ... */ } private static boolean isFileOrDirectory(File file) { return file.isFile() || file.isDirectory(); }
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException();
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Add a private constructor to hide the implicit public one. Open
final class Utility {
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Utility classes, which are collections of static
members, are not meant to be instantiated. Even abstract utility classes, which can
be extended, should not have public constructors.
Java adds an implicit public constructor to every class which does not define at least one explicitly. Hence, at least one non-public constructor should be defined.
Noncompliant Code Example
class StringUtils { // Noncompliant public static String concatenate(String s1, String s2) { return s1 + s2; } }
Compliant Solution
class StringUtils { // Compliant private StringUtils() { throw new IllegalStateException("Utility class"); } public static String concatenate(String s1, String s2) { return s1 + s2; } }
Exceptions
When class contains public static void main(String[] args)
method it is not considered as utility class and will be ignored by this
rule.
Remove this unused private "atom" method. Open
private static Diagram atom(Label label) {
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- Exclude checks
private
methods that are never executed are dead code: unnecessary, inoperative code that should be removed. Cleaning out dead code
decreases the size of the maintained codebase, making it easier to understand the program and preventing bugs from being introduced.
Note that this rule does not take reflection into account, which means that issues will be raised on private
methods that are only
accessed using the reflection API.
Noncompliant Code Example
public class Foo implements Serializable { private Foo(){} //Compliant, private empty constructor intentionally used to prevent any direct instantiation of a class. public static void doSomething(){ Foo foo = new Foo(); ... } private void unusedPrivateMethod(){...} private void writeObject(ObjectOutputStream s){...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism private void readObject(ObjectInputStream in){...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism }
Compliant Solution
public class Foo implements Serializable { private Foo(){} //Compliant, private empty constructor intentionally used to prevent any direct instantiation of a class. public static void doSomething(){ Foo foo = new Foo(); ... } private void writeObject(ObjectOutputStream s){...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism private void readObject(ObjectInputStream in){...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism }
Exceptions
This rule doesn't raise any issue on annotated methods.
Return an empty collection instead of null. Open
return null;
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Returning null
instead of an actual array or collection forces callers of the method to explicitly test for nullity, making them more
complex and less readable.
Moreover, in many cases, null
is used as a synonym for empty.
Noncompliant Code Example
public static List<Result> getResults() { return null; // Noncompliant } public static Result[] getResults() { return null; // Noncompliant } public static void main(String[] args) { Result[] results = getResults(); if (results != null) { // Nullity test required to prevent NPE for (Result result: results) { /* ... */ } } }
Compliant Solution
public static List<Result> getResults() { return Collections.emptyList(); // Compliant } public static Result[] getResults() { return new Result[0]; } public static void main(String[] args) { for (Result result: getResults()) { /* ... */ } }
See
- CERT, MSC19-C. - For functions that return an array, prefer returning an empty array over a null value
- CERT, MET55-J. - Return an empty array or collection instead of a null value for methods that return an array or collection
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException(e);
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Replace this use of System.out or System.err by a logger. Open
compile(stream), new Javadocs(javadocPath, s -> System.err.println("WARNING: " + s)))
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
When logging a message there are several important requirements which must be fulfilled:
- The user must be able to easily retrieve the logs
- The format of all logged message must be uniform to allow the user to easily read the log
- Logged data must actually be recorded
- Sensitive data must only be logged securely
If a program directly writes to the standard outputs, there is absolutely no way to comply with those requirements. That's why defining and using a dedicated logger is highly recommended.
Noncompliant Code Example
System.out.println("My Message"); // Noncompliant
Compliant Solution
logger.log("My Message");
See
- CERT, ERR02-J. - Prevent exceptions while logging data
Use "java.nio.file.Files#delete" here for better messages on error conditions. Open
file.delete();
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- Exclude checks
When java.io.File#delete
fails, this boolean
method simply returns false
with no indication of the cause. On
the other hand, when java.nio.file.Files#delete
fails, this void
method returns one of a series of exception types to better
indicate the cause of the failure. And since more information is generally better in a debugging situation, java.nio.file.Files#delete
is
the preferred option.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void cleanUp(Path path) { File file = new File(path); if (!file.delete()) { // Noncompliant //... } }
Compliant Solution
public void cleanUp(Path path) throws NoSuchFileException, DirectoryNotEmptyException, IOException { Files.delete(path); }
Replace this use of System.out or System.err by a logger. Open
private WarningHandler warningHandler = s -> System.err.println("WARNING: " + s);
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
When logging a message there are several important requirements which must be fulfilled:
- The user must be able to easily retrieve the logs
- The format of all logged message must be uniform to allow the user to easily read the log
- Logged data must actually be recorded
- Sensitive data must only be logged securely
If a program directly writes to the standard outputs, there is absolutely no way to comply with those requirements. That's why defining and using a dedicated logger is highly recommended.
Noncompliant Code Example
System.out.println("My Message"); // Noncompliant
Compliant Solution
logger.log("My Message");
See
- CERT, ERR02-J. - Prevent exceptions while logging data
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException(e);
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException();
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException(e);
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable
Define and throw a dedicated exception instead of using a generic one. Open
throw new RuntimeException();
- Read upRead up
- Exclude checks
Using such generic exceptions as Error
, RuntimeException
, Throwable
, and Exception
prevents
calling methods from handling true, system-generated exceptions differently than application-generated errors.
Noncompliant Code Example
public void foo(String bar) throws Throwable { // Noncompliant throw new RuntimeException("My Message"); // Noncompliant }
Compliant Solution
public void foo(String bar) { throw new MyOwnRuntimeException("My Message"); }
Exceptions
Generic exceptions in the signatures of overriding methods are ignored, because overriding method has to follow signature of the throw declaration in the superclass. The issue will be raised on superclass declaration of the method (or won't be raised at all if superclass is not part of the analysis).
@Override public void myMethod() throws Exception {...}
Generic exceptions are also ignored in the signatures of methods that make calls to methods that throw generic exceptions.
public void myOtherMethod throws Exception { doTheThing(); // this method throws Exception }
See
- MITRE, CWE-397 - Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception
- CERT, ERR07-J. - Do not throw RuntimeException, Exception, or Throwable