Bug 129193 [JFace] Setting the sorter on AbstractTreeViewer before input can cause NPE
I have a scenario with a subclass of TreePathViewerSorter is set on a subclass of AbstractTreeViewer. AbstractTreeViewer.setSorter() calls refresh, which eventually ends up here: // AbstractTreeViewer: /* (non-Javadoc) * @see org.eclipse.jface.viewers.StructuredViewer#getSortedChildren(java.lang.Object) */ protected Object[] getSortedChildren(Object parentElementOrTreePath) { Object[] result = getFilteredChildren(parentElementOrTreePath); ViewerSorter sorter = getSorter(); if (sorter instanceof TreePathViewerSorter) { TreePathViewerSorter tpvs = (TreePathViewerSorter) sorter; // be sure we're not modifying the original array from the model result = (Object[]) result.clone(); TreePath path = null; if (parentElementOrTreePath instanceof TreePath) { path = (TreePath) parentElementOrTreePath; } else { (1) Object parent = parentElementOrTreePath; (2) Widget w = internalGetWidgetToSelect(parent); if (w != null) { path = internalGetSorterParentPath(w, sorter); } if (path == null) path = TreePath.EMPTY.createChildPath(parentElementOrTreePath); } tpvs.sort(this, path, result); } else if (sorter != null) { // be sure we're not modifying the original array from the model result = (Object[]) result.clone(); sorter.sort(this, result); } return result; } At line (1) parent is null and at line (2) it eventually gets down into findItems(): // StructuredViewer: protected final Widget[] findItems(Object element) { Widget result = doFindInputItem(element); if (result != null) return new Widget[] { result }; // if we have an element map use it, otherwise search for the item. if (usingElementMap()) { (3) Object widgetOrWidgets = elementMap.get(element); if (widgetOrWidgets==null) { return NO_WIDGETS; } else if (widgetOrWidgets instanceof Widget) { return new Widget[] {(Widget) widgetOrWidgets}; } else { return (Widget[])widgetOrWidgets; } } result = doFindItem(element); return result == null ? NO_WIDGETS : new Widget[] { result }; } Here at (3), element is null, and the HashMap throws an NPE when trying to call key.hashCode() (since key is null).
bundles/org.eclipse.jface/src/org/eclipse/jface/viewers/AbstractTreeViewer.java
* @param widget
     *           the widget
     * @param element
     *           the element
     * @param doStruct
     *           <code>true</code> if structural changes are to be picked up,
     *           and <code>false</code> if only label provider changes are of
     *           interest
     * @param updateLabels
     *           <code>true</code> to update labels for existing elements,
     *           <code>false</code> to only update labels as needed, assuming
     *           that labels for existing elements are unchanged.
     * @since 3.1
     */
    protected void internalRefresh(Widget widget, Object element,
            boolean doStruct, boolean updateLabels) {
        if (widget instanceof Item) {
            if (doStruct) {
                updatePlus((Item) widget, element);
            }
            if (updateLabels || !equals(element, widget.getData())) {
                doUpdateItem(widget, element, true);
            } else {
                associate(element, (Item) widget);
            }
        }
        if (doStruct) {
            internalRefreshStruct(widget, element, updateLabels);
        } else {
            Item[] children = getChildren(widget);