Eclipse Community Forums: Java Development Tools (JDT) » Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body

Home » Language IDEs » Java Development Tools (JDT) » Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body(I would like a feature where the IDE warns when there is an if statement with an empty body)

Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body [message #1861053]

Sat, 16 September 2023 00:27

Eclipse User

Hello all:

I just spent a full day trying to track down a bug. It turned out I accidentally put a semicolon after an if statement so the body was empty and the conditional code was always executing.

I can't imagine any use for an if statement with an empty body. It would be a very nice feature for the IDE to generate warnings for any if statements with an empty body.

Thank you,
Neil

[Updated on: Sat, 16 September 2023 13:00] by Moderator

Re: Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body [message #1861058 is a reply to message #1861053]

Sun, 17 September 2023 02:34

Eclipse User

I have a feeling that Window -> Preferences -> Java -> Compiler -> Errors/Warnings ... Potential programming problems -> Empty statement will highlight such a problem which messages like this:

Multiple markers at this line
	- Empty control-flow statement
	- Unnecessary semicolon

Re: Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body [message #1861059 is a reply to message #1861058]

Sun, 17 September 2023 03:28

Eclipse User

Hi all,

Never happen to me, but you never knows....

There is a check for "Empty block" but the default is ignore.

When enabled, you get this:

index.php/fa/43513/0/

IMHO, the default for "Potential programming problems" should be at least a warning.

Attachment: 2023-09-17_10-08-31.png
(Size: 16.12KB, Downloaded 191 times)

Re: Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body [message #1861060 is a reply to message #1861058]

Sun, 17 September 2023 11:13

Eclipse User

Quote:

Empty statement will highlight such a problem

Yes, that is exactly what I was looking for, thank you!

Quote:

default for "Potential programming problems" should be at least a warning.

I agree, that would be a nice change.

Re: Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body [message #1861068 is a reply to message #1861053]

Mon, 18 September 2023 06:32

Eclipse User

I agree with you that it would be a nice feature for IDEs to generate warnings for if statements with empty bodies. It is a common mistake to make, and it can be difficult to track down.

There are a few potential uses for an if statement with an empty body, but they are generally not recommended. For example, you could use an if statement with an empty body to skip over a section of code if a certain condition is met. However, this is usually better done with a comment or a conditional statement that actually does something.

Another potential use for an if statement with an empty body is to create a placeholder for code that you plan to add later. However, this is also not generally recommended, as it can lead to forgetting to add the code later, or to bugs if the code is added incorrectly.

Re: Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body [message #1861084 is a reply to message #1861068]

Tue, 19 September 2023 04:59

Eclipse User

There's an option to "info" certain warnings. Perhaps, we can look at it to change the default to info, if someone reports an issue with these reasons.

Re: Feature Request: Warn when there is an if statement with empty body [message #1861086 is a reply to message #1861084]

Tue, 19 September 2023 07:31

Eclipse User

Jay Arthanareeswaran wrote on Tue, 19 September 2023 08:59

There's an option to "info" certain warnings. Perhaps, we can look at it to change the default to info, if someone reports an issue with these reasons.

I agree "info" is much better than ignore.

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