UseCompareWithoutCaseRule class

Warns when two String expressions are compared with ==/!= (or compareTo(...) == 0) without normalizing case first, when at least one side is not a compile-time constant.

Since: v15.3.0 | Updated: v15.4.0 | Rule version: v2

v2 detection change: a normalization call on ONE side no longer exempts the comparison. Normalization must match on both sides (same function), or the non-normalized side must be a constant already written in the matching case — so typed.toLowerCase() == stored.toUpperCase() is now correctly reported instead of silently passing.

Case-sensitive string comparison is the far more common real-world cousin of avoid_case_sensitive_path_comparison (which is scoped to filesystem paths): comparing user-typed input, config values, or external API strings with == silently fails whenever casing differs — e.g. rejecting "Admin" when the stored role is "admin". Both sides being compile-time constants under our own control (a literal-vs-literal comparison, or a const field like kEnvProd) is exempted: casing there is intentional and fully within the codebase's control, so flagging it only adds noise.

Example of bad code:

bool isAdmin(String role) {
  return role == 'admin'; // fails silently for "Admin", "ADMIN", etc.
}

Example of good code:

bool isAdmin(String role) {
  return role.toLowerCase() == 'admin'; // normalized before comparison
}

const kEnvProd = 'production';
bool isProd(String env) => env == kEnvProd; // both sides are our own constants
Inheritance

Constructors

UseCompareWithoutCaseRule()

Properties

accuracyTarget → AccuracyTarget?
Optional accuracy target for this rule (for documentation and tooling). Does not enforce; used by reports and rule-audit scripts.
no setterinherited
applicableFileTypes → Set<FileType>?
The file types this rule applies to.
no setterinherited
canUseParsedResult → bool
Indicates whether this analysis rule can work with just the parsed information or if it requires a resolved unit.
no setterinherited
certIds → List<String>
CERT coding standard identifiers (e.g. STR02-C). Populate only where there is a clear mapping; leave empty for most rules initially.
no setterinherited
code → LintCode
The lint code for this rule.
no setterinherited
configAliases → List<String>
Alternate config keys that can be used to reference this rule.
no setterinherited
conflictingRules → List<String>
Curated opposite/competing rule names.
no setterinherited
cost → RuleCost
The estimated execution cost of this rule.
no setteroverride
cweIds → List<int>
CWE identifiers this rule helps prevent or detect. https://cwe.mitre.org/ — e.g. CWE-798 (Hardcoded Credentials).
no setterinherited
description → String
Short description suitable for display in console output and IDEs.
finalinherited
diagnosticCode → DiagnosticCode
The code to report for a violation.
no setterinherited
diagnosticCodes → List<DiagnosticCode>
The diagnostic codes associated with this analysis rule.
no setterinherited
documentationUrl → String
Returns the documentation URL for this rule.
no setterinherited
effectiveSeverity → DiagnosticSeverity?
Get the effective severity for this rule, considering overrides.
no setterinherited
exampleBad → String?
Short code example that VIOLATES this rule (shown in CLI walkthrough).
no setterinherited
exampleGood → String?
Short code example of COMPLIANT code (shown in CLI walkthrough).
no setterinherited
fixGenerators → List<SaropaFixGenerator>
Fix producer generators for this rule.
no setterinherited
hashCode → int
The hash code for this object.
no setterinherited
hyphenatedName → String
Returns the rule name in hyphenated format for display.
no setterinherited
impact → LintImpact
Silent-failure bug class (case mismatch causes incorrect branch), but the "fix" is a judgment call the author must make (which helper, which normalization), so this stays a warning rather than an error.
no setteroverride
incompatibleRules → List<String>
A list of incompatible rule names.
no setterinherited
isDisabled → bool
Check if this rule is disabled via configuration.
no setterinherited
maximumLineCount → int
Maximum line count for this rule to run.
no setterinherited
minimumLineCount → int
Minimum line count for this rule to run.
no setterinherited
name → String
The rule name.
finalinherited
owasp → OwaspMapping?
OWASP categories this rule helps prevent.
no setterinherited
pubspecVisitor → PubspecVisitor?
A visitor that visits a Pubspec to perform analysis.
no setterinherited
relatedRules → List<String>
Curated "see also" rule names for discoverability in docs/IDE tooling.
no setterinherited
reporter ← DiagnosticReporter
Sets the DiagnosticReporter for the CompilationUnit currently being visited.
no getterinherited
requiredPatterns → Set<String>?
String patterns that must be present in the file for this rule to run.
no setterinherited
requiresAsync → bool
Whether this rule only applies to async code.
no setterinherited
requiresBlocImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Bloc.
no setterinherited
requiresClassDeclaration → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files with class declarations.
no setterinherited
requiresFlutterImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Flutter.
no setterinherited
requiresImports → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files with imports.
no setterinherited
requiresMainFunction → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files with a main() function.
no setterinherited
requiresProviderImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Provider.
no setterinherited
requiresRiverpodImport → bool
Whether this rule only applies to files that import Riverpod.
no setterinherited
requiresWidgets → bool
Whether this rule only applies to Flutter widget code.
no setterinherited
ruleStatus → RuleStatus
Lifecycle status. Default RuleStatus.ready. Use RuleStatus.beta for new or heuristic-heavy rules; RuleStatus.deprecated for sunset.
no setteroverride
ruleType → RuleType?
Semantic type of this rule. Default null = unspecified (legacy). When set, used for quality gates, accuracy targets, and reporting.
no setteroverride
runtimeType → Type
A representation of the runtime type of the object.
no setterinherited
skipExampleFiles → bool
Whether to skip example files (example/**).
no setterinherited
skipFixtureFiles → bool
Whether to skip fixture files (fixture/, fixtures/).
no setterinherited
skipGeneratedCode → bool
Whether to skip generated files (*.g.dart, *.freezed.dart, *.gen.dart).
no setterinherited
skipTestFiles → bool
Whether to skip test files (*_test.dart, test/**).
no setterinherited
state → RuleState
The state of this analysis rule.
finalinherited
supersedesRules → List<String>
Rule names this rule supersedes/replaces.
no setterinherited
tags → Set<String>
Tags for filtering and discovery (e.g. in docs, IDE, or CI). Examples: 'performance', 'accessibility', 'suspicious', 'convention'.
no setteroverride
testRelevance → TestRelevance
How this rule relates to test files.
no setterinherited
usesTypeResolution → bool
Whether this rule triggers lazy cross-library type resolution in the analyzer (e.g. .staticType, .library, .allSupertypes, .enclosingElement).
no setteroverride

Methods

noSuchMethod(Invocation invocation) → dynamic
Invoked when a nonexistent method or property is accessed.
inherited
registerNodeProcessors(RuleVisitorRegistry registry, RuleContext context) → void
Registers node processors in the given registry.
inherited
registerNodeProcessors2(RuleVisitorRegistry2 registry, RuleContext context) → void
Registers node processors in the given registry.
inherited
reportAtNode(AstNode? node, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic?
Reports a diagnostic at node with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtOffset(int offset, int length, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic
Reports a diagnostic at offset, with length, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtPubNode(PubspecNode node, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage> contextMessages = const []}) → Diagnostic
Reports a diagnostic at Pubspec node, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtSourceRange(SourceRange sourceRange, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic
Reports a diagnostic at sourceRange, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
reportAtToken(Token token, {List<Object> arguments = const [], List<DiagnosticMessage>? contextMessages}) → Diagnostic?
Reports a diagnostic at token, with message arguments and contextMessages.
inherited
runWithReporter(SaropaDiagnosticReporter reporter, SaropaContext context) → void
Override this method to implement your lint rule.
override
shouldSkipFile(String path) → bool
Check if a file path should be skipped based on context settings.
inherited
toString() → String
A string representation of this object.
inherited

Operators

operator ==(Object other) → bool
The equality operator.
inherited