OOP.AIC

An inner "class" should only be used if it is going to associate with and be visible to the class that contains it

Description

This rule flags any inner class that is not "private".

The inner classes automatically have access to their containing classes' member fields.Therefore, problems can arise if an inner class is not a "private" class.

Example

 package OOP;
 
 class AIC {
     int getSize () {
         return _size;
     }
     class Inner {
         void setSize(int size) {
             _size = size;
         }
     }
     private int _size;
 }
 

Repair

 class AIC {
     int getSize () {
         return _size;
     }
     private class Inner {
         void setSize(int size) {
            _size = size;
         }
     }
     private int _size;
 }

Reference

Warren, Nigel, and Bishop, Philip. Java in Practice . Addison-Wesley, 1999, pp. 10-11.