Code review request: new check for "try { fail/assert } catch (Throwable)" code

[cushon]

Original issue created by adamwos@google.com on 2013-08-28 at 09:38 AM

---

Link to code review: https://codereview.appspot.com/13252044/

Purpose of code changes: New check for "try { fail/assert } catch (Throwable)" code

A common pattern for testing for expected exceptions is to execute code in a try block, with a fail() or assert*() in the try, catching an expected exception.

However, if the catch clause catches Throwable, and doesn't do any verification (e.g. instanceof) of the caught object, such a test always passes.

This introduces a bug checker for the following code pattern:

try { // do something Assert.fail(); // or any Assert.assert* // maybe do something more } catch (Throwable t) { // empty or only comments }

It matches try blocks that contain an invocation of any static method named "fail" and starting with "assert" from the following classes:

• org.junit.Assert
• junit.framework.Assert
• all classes whose name ends with "MoreAsserts" and a catch (Throwable) block that is empty or contains only comments (i.e. cannot possibly do any verification of the caught throwable).

[cushon]

Original comment posted by eaftan@google.com on 2013-08-28 at 06:22 PM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

---

Status: Started Owner: eaftan@google.com

[cushon]

Original comment posted by eaftan@google.com on 2013-08-31 at 12:20 AM

---

(No comment entered for this change.)

---

Status: Done