Why is this an issue?
Naming a method tostring, hashcode or equal is either:
- A bug in the form of a typo. Overriding
toString, Object.hashCode() (note the camelCasing) or
Object.equals (note the 's' on the end) was meant, and the application does not behave as expected.
- Done on purpose. The name however will confuse every other developer, who may not notice the naming difference, or who will think it is a bug.
In both cases, the method should be renamed.
Noncompliant code example
public int hashcode() { /* ... */ } // Noncompliant
public String tostring() { /* ... */ } // Noncompliant
public boolean equal(Object obj) { /* ... */ } // Noncompliant
Compliant solution
@Override
public int hashCode() { /* ... */ }
@Override
public String toString() { /* ... */ }
@Override
public boolean equals(Object obj) { /* ... */ }
