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The enhanced for statement introduced in Java 1.5, commonly referred to as the for-each idiom, is primarily used for iterating over collections of objects. While similar to the for statement, this idiom cannot be used to assign values is designed for iteration through Collections and arrays. 

The Java Language Specification (JLS) provides the following example of the enhanced for statement in §14.14.2, "The Enhanced for Statement" [JLS 2014]:

The enhanced for statement is equivalent to a basic for statement of the form:

Code Block
for (I #i = Expression.iterator(); #i.hasNext(); ) { {VariableModifier} TargetType Identifier = (TargetType) #i.next(); Statement }

#i is an automatically generated identifier that is distinct from any other identifiers (automatically generated or otherwise) that are in scope...at the point where the enhanced for statement occurs.

Unlike the basic for statement, assignments to the loop variable fail to affect the loop's iteration order over the underlying set of objects. Consequently, an assignment to the loop variable is equivalent to modifying a variable local to the loop body whose initial value is the object referenced by the loop iterator. This modification is not necessarily erroneous but can obscure the loop functionality or indicate a misunderstanding of the underlying implementation of the enhanced for statement.

Declare all enhanced for statement loop variables final. The final declaration causes Java compilers to flag and reject any assignments made to the loop variable.

Noncompliant Code Example

This noncompliant code example attempts to initialize a Character array process a collection of integers using an enhanced for loop. However, because the loop variable cannot be assigned to, the array is not suitably initialized.It further intends to modify one item in the collection for processing:

List<Integer> list
Character[] array = Arrays.asList(new CharacterInteger[10];
for(Character c: array) 
  c = 'x'; // initialization attempt

for(int i=0;i<array.length;i++) ] {13, 14, 15});
boolean first = true;

System.out.println("Processing list...");
for (Integer i: list) {
  if (first) {
    first = false;
    i = new Integer(99);
  }
  System.out.println(" New item: " + i);
  // Process i
}

System.out.println("Modified list?");
for (Integer i: list) {
  System.out.print(array[i]);  // prints 10 "null"sprintln("List item: " + i);
}

However, this code does not actually modify the list, as shown by the program's output:

Processing list...
New item: 99
New item: 14
New item: 15
Modified list?
List item: 13
List item: 14
List item: 15

Compliant Solution

Declaring i to be final mitigates this problem by causing the compiler to fail to permit i to be assigned a new value:

// ...
for (final Integer i: list) {

// ...

Compliant Solution

This compliant solution correctly initializes the array using a for loop.processes the "modified" list but leaves the actual list unchanged:

Character[] array = new Character[10];
for(int i=0;i<array.length;i++) 
  array[i] = 'x';

Risk Assessment

// ...
 
for (final Integer i: list) {
  Integer item = i;
  if (first) {
    first = false;
    item = new Integer(99);
  }
  System.out.println(" New item: " + item);
  // Process item
}

// ...

Risk Assessment

Assignments to the loop variable of an Attempts to assign to the loop variable from within the enhanced for loop (for-each idiom) are futile and may leave the class fail to affect the overall iteration order, lead to programmer confusion, and can leave data in a fragile , or inconsistent state.

Automated Detection

TODO

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Other Languages

TODO

References

\[[JLS 05|AA. Java References#JLS 05]\] Section [14.14.2|http://java.sun.com/docs/books/jls/third_edition/html/statements.html#14.14.2] "The enhanced for statement"

Bibliography

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Image Added Image Added Image AddedDCL06-J. Beware integer literals beginning with '0'.      01. Declarations and Initialization (DCL)      01. Declarations and Initialization (DCL)