Just as you can't cut something into three halves, you can't grab a ``++substring++`` that starts or ends outside the original ``++String++``'s bounds, you can't use ``++substring++`` to get a reversed portion of a ``++String++``, and you can't get the ``++charAt++`` a value that's before the ``++String++`` starts or after it ends. This rule detects when negative literal or ``++String::length++`` is passed as an argument to the ``++String::substring++``, ``++String::charAt++`` and related methods. == Noncompliant Code Example ---- String speech = "Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country."; String substr1 = speech.substring(-1, speech.length()); // Noncompliant; start and end values both bad String substr2 = speech.substring(speech.length(), 0); // Noncompliant, start value must be < end value char ch = speech.charAt(speech.length()); // Noncompliant ---- == Compliant Solution ---- String speech = "Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of their country."; String substr1 = speech; // Closest correct values to original code yield whole string String substr2 = new StringBuilder(speech).reverse().toString() char ch = speech.charAt(speech.length()-1); ----