Inappropriate code example for S2301 - Java

robabod · January 19, 2026, 1:44pm

The following post reports inappropriate code in the example of the S2301 rule: Inappropriate code example for S2301

This was reported on SonarJS, however the same example also exists on sonar-java:

sonar-java-plugin/src/main/resources/org/sonar/l10n/java/rules/java/S2301.html

master

<h2>Why is this an issue?</h2>
<p>A selector argument is a <code>boolean</code> argument that’s used to determine which of two paths to take through a method. Specifying such a
parameter may seem innocuous, particularly if it’s well named.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the maintainers of the code calling the method won’t see the parameter name, only its value. They’ll be forced either to guess at
the meaning or to take extra time to look the method up.</p>
<p>Instead, separate methods should be written.</p>
<p>This rule finds methods with a <code>boolean</code> that’s used to determine which path to take through the method.</p>
<h3>Noncompliant code example</h3>
<pre>
public String tempt(String name, boolean ofAge) {
  if (ofAge) {
    offerLiquor(name);
  } else {
    offerCandy(name);
  }
}

// ...
public void corrupt() {
  tempt("Joe", false); // does this mean not to temp Joe?

This file has been truncated. show original

The same issue possibly also exists for other languages.

Propose that the example provided in the other report is also applied to the Java (and other language) examples.

ganncamp · January 20, 2026, 6:33pm

Hi,

Welcome to the community and thanks for this report!

Can you give your context for this? I.e. are you on SonarQube Cloud? SonarQube for IDE (flavor and version)? SonarQube self-managed (flavor and version)?

Thx,
Ann

robabod · January 23, 2026, 1:57pm

Hi.

This was initially spotted by a colleague using SonarLint 8.4.0 in IntelliJ IDEA 2025.3. It’s an older version of the plugin as it binds to an older version of SonarQube server (self-managed) Version 7.9.2 (yes, we really do need to upgrade but are restricted due to the project).

On seeing the example text I checked the ruleset on our SonarQube server, and then checked whether the same example existed within the SonarQube codebase (to check if it had been addressed on the newer versions).

I cannot currently try to recreate on a newer version of SonarQube (I don’t have access until we upgrade) - I raised this based on the source on the “master” branch within github, which currently includes the inappropriate example for S2301.

ganncamp · January 23, 2026, 2:21pm

Hi,

Thanks for the explanation. I’ll flag this for the language experts.

And in a separate thread, I’d love to explore how we can get you to a current version of SonarQube. I’m 85% certain that accommodations could be made on a current SonarQube version for the project that’s holding you on a version that’s nearly 6 years old.

Ann

tomasz.tylenda · January 27, 2026, 3:35pm

Thank you for pointing this out!

The rule is currently implemented only for JavaScript and Java, so other languages are unaffected. I did not find any other inappropriate rules.

The fix is underway, and you can track the progress here: SONARJAVA-6007.

tomasz.tylenda · January 29, 2026, 9:58am

The fix has been merged and will be included in the next release.

robabod · February 2, 2026, 12:03pm

Thanks for addressing this.

Our upgrade to a newer version of SonarQube is in-hand with our internal tools team.

Topic		Replies	Views
SonarLint does not identify this ambiguous method call IntelliJ Platform java , intellij , sonarqube-ide	2	502	July 7, 2023
java:S3400 False positive Report False-positive / False-negative... java , sonarqube-ide	5	937	August 17, 2021
False positive on java:S6073 Report False-positive / False-negative... java , mockito , sonarqube-ide	2	1404	May 3, 2021
Recommend new name for java:S5411 SonarQube Server / Community Build java	2	1039	December 21, 2022
A false negative about the rule RSPEC-3400 Report False-positive / False-negative... java , sonarqube , scanner	2	641	May 4, 2022

Inappropriate code example for S2301 - Java

Related topics