RFR: 8305734: BitSet.get(int, int) always returns the empty BitSet when the Integer.MAX VALUE is set

[Andy-Tatman]

On Tue, 9 May 2023 00:12:19 GMT, Stuart Marks <smarks at openjdk.org> wrote:

> This isn't correct. When length() returns Integer.MIN_VALUE, this doesn't _necessarily_ cause get(from, to) to always return an empty BitSet. Well, it does in the current implementation, but that's simply a bug that can be fixed. The implementation of the get() method can access the internal data of the object and do the right thing, regardless of what the length() method does. That change should probably be made, regardless of other spec changes we've been discussing.

Noted, the opening paragraph of Problem should be corrected to the following:
"BitSet.length() returns a negative value when Integer.MAX_VALUE is set, such as by using the set(int) method or by passing large arrays to a BitSet constructor. This unexpected behaviour can cause issues where the user relies on length() returning a positive value or 0, such as the bug that occurs in the current implementation of get(int,int)."
This corrects the original paragraph, while still demonstrating why issues it can cause.

> Re disallowing bit Integer.MAX_VALUE: I have a feeling we can do better than this.

That is fair enough. I will fill in the specification for the suggested CSR, so that the CSR can at least be properly discussed.

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PR Comment: https://git.openjdk.org/jdk/pull/13388#issuecomment-1598483666