#1324 MethodReturnsInternalArray false positive with clone()

[Rei Angelus]

Almost the same as issue 1299, but with an array clone instead of an array copy.

:::java
public Hit[] getHits() {
return hits == null ? null : hits.clone();
}

Rule:MethodReturnsInternalArray Priority:3 Returning 'getHits' may expose an internal array

This solution don't return error:
:::java
public Hit[] getHits() {
final Hit[] ret = hits == null ? null : Arrays.copyOf(hits, hits.length);
return ret;
}

[Rei Angelus]

I will be more precise. You can test it and fail it with :

:::xml
<test-code>
<description>#1324 MethodReturnsInternalArray false positive with clone() </description>
<expected-problems>0</expected-problems>
<![CDATA
public class Test {
private Hit[ hits;

public Hit[] getHits() {
    return hits == null ? null : hits.clone();
}

}
]]>
</test-code>

Beware, if you remove the line "private Hit[] hits;", the test will succeed.

[Andreas Dangel]

It's very similar to [#962] - the only difference is "this" in the return statement/ternary operator.

[Andreas Dangel]

This will be fixed with the next version.