It is very common to pass a collection constructor reference as an argument, for example Collectors.toCollection(ArrayList::new)
takes
the ArrayList::new
constructor. When the method expects a java.util.function.Supplier
it is perfectly fine. However when the
method argument type is java.util.function.Function
it means that an argument will be passed to the constructor.
The first argument of Collections constructors is usually an integer representing its "initial capacity". This is generally not what the developer
expects, but the memory allocation is not visible at first glance.
This rule raises an issue when a collection constructor is passed by reference as a java.util.function.Function
argument.
Noncompliant code example
Arrays.asList(1, 2, 54000).stream().collect(Collectors.toMap(Function.identity(), ArrayList::new)); // Noncompliant, "ArrayList::new" unintentionally refers to "ArrayList(int initialCapacity)" instead of "ArrayList()"
Compliant solution
Arrays.asList(1, 2, 54000).stream().collect(Collectors.toMap(Function.identity(), id -> new ArrayList<>())); // Compliant, explicitly show the usage of "id -> new ArrayList<>()" or "id -> new ArrayList<>(id)"