Page History

Programmers frequently make errors regarding the precedence rules of operators due to the unintuitive low-precedence levels of &, |, ^, <<, and >>. Mistakes regarding precedence rules can be avoided by the suitable use of parentheses. Defensive use of parentheses, if not taken to excess, also improves code readability.

The precedence of operations by the order of the subclauses are defined in \[[Tutorials 08|AA. Java References#Tutorials 08]\].

This recommendation is similar to EXP30-J. Do not depend on operator precedence while using expressions containing side-effects, however it applies to more than the expressions that contain side effects.

Noncompliant Code Example

The intent of the expression in this noncompliant code example is to add the variable OFFSET with the result of the bitwise AND between x and MASK.

public static final int MASK = 1337;
public static final int OFFSET = -1337;

public static int computeCode(int x) {
  return x & MASK + OFFSET;
}

Due to operator precedence rules, the expression is parsed as:

x & (MASK + OFFSET)

This gets evaluated as shown below, resulting in the value 0.

x & (1337 - 1337)

Compliant Solution

In this compliant solution, parentheses are used to ensure that the expression evaluates as expected.

public static final int MASK = 1337;
public static final int OFFSET = -1337;

public static int computeCode(int x) {
  return (x & MASK) + OFFSET;
}

Exceptions

EXP00-EX1: Mathematical expressions that follow algebraic order do not require parentheses. For instance, consider the expression:

x + y * z

By mathematical convention, multiplication is performed before addition. Consequently, parentheses may prove to be redundant in this case.

x + (y * z)

Risk Assessment

Mistakes regarding precedence rules may cause an expression to be evaluated in an unintended way. This can lead to unexpected and abnormal program behavior.

Related Vulnerabilities

Search for vulnerabilities resulting from the violation of this rule on the CERT website.

Other Languages

This rule appears in the C Coding Standard as EXP00-C. Use parentheses for precedence of operation.

This rule appears in the C++ Secure Coding Standard as EXP00-CPP. Use parentheses for precedence of operation.

References

\[[Tutorials 08|AA. Java References#Tutorials 08]\] [Expressions, Statements, and Blocks|http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/expressions.html], [Operators|http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/operators.html]
\[[ESA 05|AA. Java References#ESA 05]\] Rule 65: Use parentheses to explicitly indicate the order of execution of numerical operators .