• http://findbugs.sourceforge.net/bugDescriptions.html#NP_NULL_ON_SOME_PATH

There is a branch of statement that, if executed, guarantees that a null value will be dereferenced, which would generate a NullPointerException when the code is executed. Of course, the problem might be that the branch or statement is infeasible and that the null pointer exception can't ever be executed; deciding that is beyond the ability of FindBugs.

– 2013-11-18

as its name shows,“possible” null pointer is detected.in the sample code the condition in which obj is null but elt is not null, a null value will be dereferenced by the second part of “OR” operation. A null pointer is a very common type of error in Java programs and might require sophisticated analysis techniques to find. However, the studying of real Java applications and libraries has shown that many null pointer bugs are the result of simple mistakes, such as using the wrong Boolean operator.

if (c == null && c.isDisposed()) return;

Null pointer analysis is meant to find bugs, it is important to have high confidence that a value really can be null at runtime before issuing a warning about a possible null pointer dereference. If too many false warnings are produced, the tool will not be worth the developer’s time to use. Infeasible control paths are a common source of inaccuracy in dataflow analysis, and avoiding them is an important challenge in the design of an analysis to find null pointer bugs. In some cases, the condition checked may originate from outside the scope of the current analysis, such as a parameter passed into the method. On method entry, parameter values are assumed to be NCP, Null on a Complex Path.

static void find3(Object Obj,Object elt ) {
		if ((Obj == null && elt==null) || Obj.equals(elt))
                   //in this case Obj can be null and elt can be not null 
                   //so it is possible we refer to Obj.equals(null),
                   //which is kind of accessing null pointer.                             
              {
		  // do something
		    }
	}

<code Java>

public static void possibleNullPointer(Object elt,Object Obj) {

if (Obj == null || Obj.equals(elt)) {

    //dosomthing
    }
}	

</Code>

<code Java> public static void possibleNullPointer(Object elt,Object Obj) {

if ¹⁾) {

    //dosomthing
    }
}

</Code>

FB = FindBugs, JT = JTransformer, Delta = JTransformer - FindBugs