Signature matters!

Pavel Fatin

In Scala, method signature semantics goes beyond method name, parameters and result type. The signature can also tell about whether a method has side effects, or whether a method represents a property.

However, sometimes we forget about writing proper definitions or method calls. That’s where 15 new method signature inspections may help. 

Method declaration syntax inspections

Method with Unit result type is parameterless:

Method with Unit result type defined with equals sign:

Method with Unit result type defined like function:

Redundant Unit result type annotation:

Apparent refinement of result type:

Method name inspections

Method with accessor-like name is empty-paren:

Method with accessor-like name has Unit result type:

Method with mutator-like name is parameterless:

Method overriding inspections

Empy-paren Scala method overriden as parameterless:

Parameterless Scala member overriden as empty-paren:

Java accessor method overriden as empty-paren:

Java mutator method overriden as parameterless:

Method access inspections

Empty-paren method accessed as parameterless:

Java accessor method called as empty-paren:

Java mutator method accessed as parameterless: