1 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 2 // checkstyle: Checks Java source code and other text files for adherence to a set of rules. 3 // Copyright (C) 2001-2025 the original author or authors. 4 // 5 // This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or 6 // modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public 7 // License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either 8 // version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. 9 // 10 // This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, 11 // but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of 12 // MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU 13 // Lesser General Public License for more details. 14 // 15 // You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public 16 // License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software 17 // Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA 18 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// 19 20 package com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.checks.coding; 21 22 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.StatelessCheck; 23 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.AbstractCheck; 24 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.DetailAST; 25 import com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.api.TokenTypes; 26 27 /** 28 * <div> 29 * Checks that the clone method is not overridden from the 30 * Object class. 31 * </div> 32 * 33 * <p> 34 * This check is almost exactly the same as the {@code NoFinalizerCheck}. 35 * </p> 36 * 37 * <p> 38 * See 39 * <a href="https://docs.oracle.com/en/java/javase/11/docs/api/java.base/java/lang/Object.html#clone()"> 40 * Object.clone()</a> 41 * </p> 42 * 43 * <p> 44 * Rationale: The clone method relies on strange, hard to follow rules that 45 * are difficult to get right and do not work in all situations. In some cases, 46 * either a copy constructor or a static factory method can be used instead of 47 * the clone method to return copies of an object. For more information on rules 48 * for the clone method and its issues, see Effective Java: 49 * Programming Language Guide First Edition by Joshua Bloch pages 45-52. 50 * </p> 51 * 52 * <p> 53 * Below are some rules/reasons why the clone method should be avoided. 54 * </p> 55 * <ul> 56 * <li> 57 * Classes supporting the clone method should implement the Cloneable 58 * interface but the Cloneable interface does not include the clone method. 59 * As a result, it doesn't enforce the method override. 60 * </li> 61 * <li> 62 * The Cloneable interface forces the Object's clone method to work 63 * correctly. Without implementing it, the Object's clone method will 64 * throw a CloneNotSupportedException. 65 * </li> 66 * <li> 67 * Non-final classes must return the object returned from a call to 68 * super.clone(). 69 * </li> 70 * <li> 71 * Final classes can use a constructor to create a clone which is different 72 * from non-final classes. 73 * </li> 74 * <li> 75 * If a super class implements the clone method incorrectly all subclasses 76 * calling super.clone() are doomed to failure. 77 * </li> 78 * <li> 79 * If a class has references to mutable objects then those object 80 * references must be replaced with copies in the clone method 81 * after calling super.clone(). 82 * </li> 83 * <li> 84 * The clone method does not work correctly with final mutable object 85 * references because final references cannot be reassigned. 86 * </li> 87 * <li> 88 * If a super class overrides the clone method then all subclasses must 89 * provide a correct clone implementation. 90 * </li> 91 * </ul> 92 * 93 * <p>Two alternatives to the clone method, in some cases, is a copy constructor 94 * or a static factory method to return copies of an object. Both of these 95 * approaches are simpler and do not conflict with final fields. They do not 96 * force the calling client to handle a CloneNotSupportedException. They also 97 * are typed therefore no casting is necessary. Finally, they are more 98 * flexible since they can take interface types rather than concrete classes. 99 * </p> 100 * 101 * <p>Sometimes a copy constructor or static factory is not an acceptable 102 * alternative to the clone method. The example below highlights the 103 * limitation of a copy constructor (or static factory). Assume 104 * Square is a subclass for Shape. 105 * </p> 106 * <pre> 107 * Shape s1 = new Square(); 108 * System.out.println(s1 instanceof Square); //true 109 * </pre> 110 * 111 * <p> 112 * ...assume at this point the code knows nothing of s1 being a Square 113 * that's the beauty of polymorphism but the code wants to copy 114 * the Square which is declared as a Shape, its super type... 115 * </p> 116 * <pre> 117 * Shape s2 = new Shape(s1); //using the copy constructor 118 * System.out.println(s2 instanceof Square); //false 119 * </pre> 120 * 121 * <p> 122 * The working solution (without knowing about all subclasses and doing many 123 * casts) is to do the following (assuming correct clone implementation). 124 * </p> 125 * <pre> 126 * Shape s2 = s1.clone(); 127 * System.out.println(s2 instanceof Square); //true 128 * </pre> 129 * 130 * <p> 131 * Just keep in mind if this type of polymorphic cloning is required 132 * then a properly implemented clone method may be the best choice. 133 * </p> 134 * 135 * <p>Much of this information was taken from Effective Java: 136 * Programming Language Guide First Edition by Joshua Bloch 137 * pages 45-52. Give Bloch credit for writing an excellent book. 138 * </p> 139 * 140 * <p> 141 * Parent is {@code com.puppycrawl.tools.checkstyle.TreeWalker} 142 * </p> 143 * 144 * <p> 145 * Violation Message Keys: 146 * </p> 147 * <ul> 148 * <li> 149 * {@code avoid.clone.method} 150 * </li> 151 * </ul> 152 * 153 * @since 5.0 154 */ 155 @StatelessCheck 156 public class NoCloneCheck extends AbstractCheck { 157 158 /** 159 * A key is pointing to the warning message text in "messages.properties" 160 * file. 161 */ 162 public static final String MSG_KEY = "avoid.clone.method"; 163 164 @Override 165 public int[] getDefaultTokens() { 166 return getRequiredTokens(); 167 } 168 169 @Override 170 public int[] getAcceptableTokens() { 171 return getRequiredTokens(); 172 } 173 174 @Override 175 public int[] getRequiredTokens() { 176 return new int[] {TokenTypes.METHOD_DEF}; 177 } 178 179 @Override 180 public void visitToken(DetailAST ast) { 181 final DetailAST mid = ast.findFirstToken(TokenTypes.IDENT); 182 final String name = mid.getText(); 183 184 if ("clone".equals(name)) { 185 final DetailAST params = ast.findFirstToken(TokenTypes.PARAMETERS); 186 final boolean hasEmptyParamList = 187 params.findFirstToken(TokenTypes.PARAMETER_DEF) == null; 188 189 if (hasEmptyParamList) { 190 log(ast, MSG_KEY); 191 } 192 } 193 } 194 195 }