Sonar misinterprets normal language as code

Rules and Languages Report False-positive / False-negative...
1

Sonar version

  • Data Center Edition
  • v2025.2 (105476)

Language

  • Java

Objected code

private Instant truncateToEnsureConsistentPrecision(Instant timestamp) {
    // Some sub-systems use nanosecond precision, others microsecond precision;
    // without truncating, identical timestamp can look slightly different and fail comparisons.
    return timestamp.truncatedTo(ChronoUnit.MICROS);
}

Check result
“This block of commented-out lines of code should be removed.
Sections of code should not be commented out [java:S125]”

Why false negative?
The comment does not contain any code, only a plain English explanation why the method is necessary, and designed this way.

Pre-Analysis
Sonar reacts to the presence of a semicolon at the end of the first comment line. Removing the semicolon or replacing it with a different character, such as a hyphen, makes it ignore the code.

2

Thanks @Florian_Hoffmann

This is a hard heuristic to get right. We have an existing ticket open, SONARJAVA-3037, that I’ll link this report to.

1 Like