A method that is never called is dead code, and should be removed. Cleaning out dead code decreases the size of the maintained codebase, making it
easier to understand the program and preventing bugs from being introduced.
This rule detects methods that are never referenced from inside a translation unit, and cannot be referenced from the outside.
Code examples
Noncompliant code example
public class Foo implements Serializable
{
public static void doSomething() {
Foo foo = new Foo();
...
}
private void unusedPrivateMethod() {...}
private void writeObject(ObjectOutputStream s) {...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism
private void readObject(ObjectInputStream in) {...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism
}
Compliant solution
public class Foo implements Serializable
{
public static void doSomething(){
Foo foo = new Foo();
...
}
private void writeObject(ObjectOutputStream s) {...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism
private void readObject(ObjectInputStream in) {...} //Compliant, relates to the java serialization mechanism
}
Exceptions
This rule doesn’t raise issues for:
- annotated methods
- methods with parameters that are annotated with
@javax.enterprise.event.Observes
The rule does not take reflection into account, which means that issues will be raised on private methods that are only accessed using
the reflection API.
