[BUG] Editor fails to open in an previously unopened, non-empty java file in a non-top-level package (the one with a dot) when the project has set up null analysis with custom annotations

[Monniasza]

System

Windows 11 Pro
Fresh workspace, fresh install of Eclipse JDT 2025.09.

Eclipse IDE for Java Developers (includes Incubating components)

Version: 2025-09 (4.37.0)
Build id: 20250905-1456
(c) Copyright Eclipse contributors and others 2000, 2025.  All rights reserved. Eclipse and the Eclipse logo are trademarks of the Eclipse Foundation, Inc., https://www.eclipse.org/. The Eclipse logo cannot be altered without Eclipses permission. Eclipse logos are provided for use under the Eclipse logo and trademark guidelines, https://www.eclipse.org/logotm/. Oracle and Java are trademarks or registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

This product includes software developed by other open source projects including the Apache Software Foundation, https://www.apache.org/.

system.txt

Description

Trying to edit the AnotherClass in the VEB.deeper package in the included project results in the editor failing to open with the following error:

java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.AnnotationBinding.getAnnotationType()" because "annotationOnAnnotation" is null
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.evaluateTypeQualifierDefault(BinaryTypeBinding.java:2337)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.Annotation.determineNonNullByDefaultTagBits(Annotation.java:457)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.Annotation.detectStandardAnnotation(Annotation.java:424)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.Annotation.resolveType(Annotation.java:964)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:899)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:790)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits(SourceTypeBinding.java:1143)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.PackageBinding.initDefaultNullness(PackageBinding.java:325)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.PackageBinding.getDefaultNullness(PackageBinding.java:337)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.evaluateNullAnnotations(SourceTypeBinding.java:2292)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:792)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits(SourceTypeBinding.java:1143)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment.initializeUsesNullTypeAnnotation(LookupEnvironment.java:1759)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment.usesNullTypeAnnotations(LookupEnvironment.java:1724)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment.usesNullTypeAnnotations(LookupEnvironment.java:1719)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.scanFieldForNullAnnotation(BinaryTypeBinding.java:1971)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.cachePartsFrom2(BinaryTypeBinding.java:624)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.cachePartsFrom(BinaryTypeBinding.java:441)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment.createBinaryTypeFrom(LookupEnvironment.java:1092)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment.createBinaryTypeFrom(LookupEnvironment.java:1073)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.Compiler.accept(Compiler.java:183)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment.askForType(LookupEnvironment.java:305)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.UnresolvedReferenceBinding.resolve(UnresolvedReferenceBinding.java:116)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.resolveType(BinaryTypeBinding.java:242)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.ParameterizedTypeBinding.resolve(ParameterizedTypeBinding.java:1317)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.resolveType(BinaryTypeBinding.java:213)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.superclass(BinaryTypeBinding.java:2406)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.CompilationUnitScope.findStaticMethod(CompilationUnitScope.java:748)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.CompilationUnitScope.findSingleStaticImport(CompilationUnitScope.java:718)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.CompilationUnitScope.checkMoreStaticBindings(CompilationUnitScope.java:1063)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.CompilationUnitScope.faultInImports(CompilationUnitScope.java:577)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.Scope.getBinding(Scope.java:2190)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.SingleNameReference.resolveType(SingleNameReference.java:1000)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.MemberValuePair.resolveTypeExpecting(MemberValuePair.java:93)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.Annotation.resolveType(Annotation.java:923)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:899)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:790)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits(SourceTypeBinding.java:1143)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.retrieveAnnotationHolder(SourceTypeBinding.java:2395)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.retrieveAnnotationHolder(SourceTypeBinding.java:2389)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.ReferenceBinding.retrieveAnnotations(ReferenceBinding.java:2000)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.ReferenceBinding.getAnnotations(ReferenceBinding.java:1084)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.evaluateTypeQualifierDefault(BinaryTypeBinding.java:2336)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.Annotation.determineNonNullByDefaultTagBits(Annotation.java:457)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.Annotation.detectStandardAnnotation(Annotation.java:424)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.Annotation.resolveType(Annotation.java:964)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:899)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:790)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits(SourceTypeBinding.java:1143)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.PackageBinding.initDefaultNullness(PackageBinding.java:325)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.PackageBinding.getDefaultNullness(PackageBinding.java:337)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.evaluateNullAnnotations(SourceTypeBinding.java:2292)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(ASTNode.java:792)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits(SourceTypeBinding.java:1143)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.ast.TypeDeclaration.updateSupertypesWithAnnotations(TypeDeclaration.java:1837)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.CompilationUnitScope.integrateAnnotationsInHierarchy(CompilationUnitScope.java:426)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment$CompleteTypeBindingsSteps.perform(LookupEnvironment.java:194)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.LookupEnvironment.completeTypeBindings(LookupEnvironment.java:564)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.Compiler.internalBeginToCompile(Compiler.java:787)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.Compiler.beginToCompile(Compiler.java:277)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.CompilationUnitResolver.resolve(CompilationUnitResolver.java:1239)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.CompilationUnitResolver.resolve(CompilationUnitResolver.java:829)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.CompilationUnitResolver.toCompilationUnit(CompilationUnitResolver.java:1404)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.CompilationUnitResolver$ECJCompilationUnitResolver.toCompilationUnit(CompilationUnitResolver.java:109)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.ASTParser.internalCreateASTCached(ASTParser.java:1395)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.ASTParser.lambda$1(ASTParser.java:1274)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.core.JavaModelManager.cacheZipFiles(JavaModelManager.java:5703)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.ASTParser.internalCreateAST(ASTParser.java:1274)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.core.dom.ASTParser.createAST(ASTParser.java:918)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.text.folding.DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.processCompilationUnit(DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.java:1426)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.text.folding.DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.computeFoldingStructure(DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.java:1397)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.text.folding.DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.update(DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.java:1322)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.text.folding.DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.initialize(DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.java:1259)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.text.folding.DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.handleProjectionEnabled(DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.java:1229)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.text.folding.DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider$ProjectionListener.projectionEnabled(DefaultJavaFoldingStructureProvider.java:1088)
	at org.eclipse.jface.text.source.projection.ProjectionViewer.fireProjectionEnabled(ProjectionViewer.java:475)
	at org.eclipse.jface.text.source.projection.ProjectionViewer.enableProjection(ProjectionViewer.java:523)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.javaeditor.JavaSourceViewer.setVisibleDocument(JavaSourceViewer.java:639)
	at org.eclipse.jface.text.TextViewer.setDocument(TextViewer.java:2891)
	at org.eclipse.jface.text.source.SourceViewer.setDocument(SourceViewer.java:683)
	at org.eclipse.jface.text.source.projection.ProjectionViewer.setDocument(ProjectionViewer.java:368)
	at org.eclipse.jface.text.source.SourceViewer.setDocument(SourceViewer.java:633)
	at org.eclipse.ui.texteditor.AbstractTextEditor.initializeSourceViewer(AbstractTextEditor.java:3990)
	at org.eclipse.ui.texteditor.AbstractTextEditor.createPartControl(AbstractTextEditor.java:3482)
	at org.eclipse.ui.texteditor.StatusTextEditor.createPartControl(StatusTextEditor.java:64)
	at org.eclipse.ui.texteditor.AbstractDecoratedTextEditor.createPartControl(AbstractDecoratedTextEditor.java:473)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.javaeditor.JavaEditor.createPartControl(JavaEditor.java:3101)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.javaeditor.CompilationUnitEditor.createPartControl(CompilationUnitEditor.java:1521)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.e4.compatibility.CompatibilityPart.createPartControl(CompatibilityPart.java:160)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.e4.compatibility.CompatibilityEditor.createPartControl(CompatibilityEditor.java:98)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.e4.compatibility.CompatibilityPart.create(CompatibilityPart.java:367)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DirectMethodHandleAccessor.invoke(DirectMethodHandleAccessor.java:103)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:580)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.MethodRequestor.execute(MethodRequestor.java:58)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.processAnnotated(InjectorImpl.java:1037)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.processAnnotated(InjectorImpl.java:998)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.internalInject(InjectorImpl.java:142)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.internalMake(InjectorImpl.java:401)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.internal.di.InjectorImpl.make(InjectorImpl.java:319)
	at org.eclipse.e4.core.contexts.ContextInjectionFactory.make(ContextInjectionFactory.java:203)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ReflectionContributionFactory.createFromBundle(ReflectionContributionFactory.java:90)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ReflectionContributionFactory.doCreate(ReflectionContributionFactory.java:59)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ReflectionContributionFactory.create(ReflectionContributionFactory.java:42)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchContributionFactory.create(WorkbenchContributionFactory.java:46)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.renderers.swt.ContributedPartRenderer.createWidget(ContributedPartRenderer.java:134)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createWidget(PartRenderingEngine.java:991)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:658)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.safeCreateGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:762)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$2.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:727)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:47)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.createGui(PartRenderingEngine.java:711)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.PartServiceImpl.lambda$0(PartServiceImpl.java:105)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.services.internal.events.UIEventHandler.lambda$0(UIEventHandler.java:38)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Synchronizer.syncExec(Synchronizer.java:183)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.UISynchronizer.syncExec(UISynchronizer.java:133)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.syncExec(Display.java:4894)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.workbench.swt.DisplayUISynchronize.syncExec(DisplayUISynchronize.java:34)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.services.internal.events.UIEventHandler.handleEvent(UIEventHandler.java:38)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.event.EventHandlerWrapper.handleEvent(EventHandlerWrapper.java:206)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.event.EventHandlerTracker.dispatchEvent(EventHandlerTracker.java:201)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.event.EventHandlerTracker.dispatchEvent(EventHandlerTracker.java:1)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.framework.eventmgr.EventManager.dispatchEvent(EventManager.java:230)
	at org.eclipse.osgi.framework.eventmgr.ListenerQueue.dispatchEventSynchronous(ListenerQueue.java:151)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.event.EventAdminImpl.dispatchEvent(EventAdminImpl.java:132)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.event.EventAdminImpl.sendEvent(EventAdminImpl.java:73)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.event.EventComponent.sendEvent(EventComponent.java:48)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.services.internal.events.EventBroker.send(EventBroker.java:55)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.UIEventPublisher.notifyChanged(UIEventPublisher.java:60)
	at org.eclipse.emf.common.notify.impl.BasicNotifierImpl.eNotify(BasicNotifierImpl.java:424)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.model.application.ui.impl.ElementContainerImpl.setSelectedElementGen(ElementContainerImpl.java:168)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.model.application.ui.impl.ElementContainerImpl.setSelectedElement(ElementContainerImpl.java:187)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ModelServiceImpl.showElementInWindow(ModelServiceImpl.java:661)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.ModelServiceImpl.bringToTop(ModelServiceImpl.java:625)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.PartServiceImpl.delegateBringToTop(PartServiceImpl.java:796)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.PartServiceImpl.bringToTop(PartServiceImpl.java:401)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.PartServiceImpl.showPart(PartServiceImpl.java:1271)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPage.busyOpenEditor(WorkbenchPage.java:3228)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPage.lambda$11(WorkbenchPage.java:3118)
	at org.eclipse.swt.custom.BusyIndicator.showWhile(BusyIndicator.java:67)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPage.openEditor(WorkbenchPage.java:3116)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPage.openEditor(WorkbenchPage.java:3086)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.WorkbenchPage.openEditor(WorkbenchPage.java:3077)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.javaeditor.EditorUtility.openInEditor(EditorUtility.java:390)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.javaeditor.EditorUtility.openInSpecificEditor(EditorUtility.java:191)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.javaeditor.EditorUtility.openInEditor(EditorUtility.java:169)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.actions.OpenAction.run(OpenAction.java:288)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.actions.OpenAction.run(OpenAction.java:254)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.actions.SelectionDispatchAction.dispatchRun(SelectionDispatchAction.java:274)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.ui.actions.SelectionDispatchAction.run(SelectionDispatchAction.java:252)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.packageview.PackageExplorerActionGroup.handleOpen(PackageExplorerActionGroup.java:366)
	at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.ui.packageview.PackageExplorerPart$3.open(PackageExplorerPart.java:545)
	at org.eclipse.ui.OpenAndLinkWithEditorHelper$InternalListener.open(OpenAndLinkWithEditorHelper.java:48)
	at org.eclipse.jface.viewers.StructuredViewer$2.run(StructuredViewer.java:798)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.SafeRunner.run(SafeRunner.java:47)
	at org.eclipse.jface.util.SafeRunnable.run(SafeRunnable.java:167)
	at org.eclipse.jface.viewers.StructuredViewer.fireOpen(StructuredViewer.java:795)
	at org.eclipse.jface.viewers.StructuredViewer.handleOpen(StructuredViewer.java:1109)
	at org.eclipse.jface.util.OpenStrategy.fireOpenEvent(OpenStrategy.java:295)
	at org.eclipse.jface.util.OpenStrategy$1.handleEvent(OpenStrategy.java:330)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.EventTable.sendEvent(EventTable.java:91)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.sendEvent(Display.java:4362)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Widget.sendEvent(Widget.java:1214)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.runDeferredEvents(Display.java:4160)
	at org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Display.readAndDispatch(Display.java:3748)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine$5.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:1151)
	at org.eclipse.core.databinding.observable.Realm.runWithDefault(Realm.java:339)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.swt.PartRenderingEngine.run(PartRenderingEngine.java:1042)
	at org.eclipse.e4.ui.internal.workbench.E4Workbench.createAndRunUI(E4Workbench.java:153)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.lambda$3(Workbench.java:678)
	at org.eclipse.core.databinding.observable.Realm.runWithDefault(Realm.java:339)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.Workbench.createAndRunWorkbench(Workbench.java:583)
	at org.eclipse.ui.PlatformUI.createAndRunWorkbench(PlatformUI.java:173)
	at org.eclipse.ui.internal.ide.application.IDEApplication.start(IDEApplication.java:185)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.internal.app.EclipseAppHandle.run(EclipseAppHandle.java:219)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.runApplication(EclipseAppLauncher.java:149)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.internal.adaptor.EclipseAppLauncher.start(EclipseAppLauncher.java:115)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:467)
	at org.eclipse.core.runtime.adaptor.EclipseStarter.run(EclipseStarter.java:298)
	at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DirectMethodHandleAccessor.invoke(DirectMethodHandleAccessor.java:103)
	at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:580)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.invokeFramework(Main.java:627)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.basicRun(Main.java:575)
	at org.eclipse.equinox.launcher.Main.run(Main.java:1431)
	Suppressed: java.lang.RuntimeException: RuntimeException loading =VerifyEclipseBug/C:\/Users\/Oskar\/eclipse\/plugins\/org.eclipse.justj.openjdk.hotspot.jre.full.win32.x86_64_21.0.8.v20250724-1412\/jre\/lib\/jrt-fs.jar`java.base=/javadoc_location=/https:\/\/docs.oracle.com\/en\/java\/javase\/21\/docs\/api\/=/=/module=/true=/|java/lang/Enum.class
		at org.eclipse.jdt.internal.compiler.lookup.BinaryTypeBinding.cachePartsFrom(BinaryTypeBinding.java:445)
		... 165 more

To reproduce

With the included project

1. Download and unzip the project
2. Open the ./src/VEB/deeper/AnotherClass.java file
3. See the editor open without a title and with the error without a message but with a stack trace

With a new project

1. Create a brand-new project (it doesn't even have to be modular)
2. Create a top-level package
3. Fill the top level package with non-null, nullable and non-null-default annotations
4. In Java compiler settings, enable annotation-based null analysis and set the annotations to the ones created in step 3
5. Create a sub-package in the top-level package
6. Create a new class in the sub-package
7. The creation dialog errors out and leaves an empty .java file with the right name
8. Fill the new .java file with the right package and an empty class
9. Save the file
10. Reopen the new class
11. The editor errors out

With a new project (alternative order)

1. Create a brand-new project (it doesn't even have to be modular)
2. Create a top-level package
3. Create a sub-package in the top-level package
4. Create a new class in the sub-package
5. Fill the top level package with non-null, nullable and non-null-default annotations
6. In Java compiler settings, enable annotation-based null analysis and set the annotations to the ones created in step 5
7. The editor errors out

Expected behavior

The editor opens just fine

Actual behavior

The editor has no title in its tab and it shows an error without a message with "Details" button which shows the stack trace when pressed; and also the "Show the Error Log View" button with an icon which lead to the error log tab in the bottom of the screen

Workarounds

Disable null analysis
Use Eclipse 2023.12

Attachments

VerifyEclipseBug.zip

[srikanth-sankaran]

@stephan-herrmann - Thanks for taking a look

[Monniasza]

@stephan-herrmann Thanks. When are you planning to review this and add the bug label? It seems to be a regression, since it worked fine on 2023.12.

[iloveeclipse]

@Monniasza : please check if it is fixed in https://download.eclipse.org/eclipse/downloads/drops4/S-4.38RC2a-202512010920/

[Monniasza]

Trying to run the Eclipse release supposed to fix this error gives the following error dialog:

---------------------------
Eclipse
---------------------------
A Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK)
must be available in order to run Eclipse. No Java virtual machine
was found after searching the following locations:
C:\Users\Oskar\Downloads\eclipse\jre\bin\javaw.exe
javaw.exe in your current PATH
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------

This error does not occur in 2025.09. Both do not have the ./jre directory

[iloveeclipse]

Trying to run the Eclipse release supposed to fix this error gives the following error dialog

This looks like a Windows specific issue with the launcher code which tries to find matching Java but fails. I have no idea how you started your Eclipse before, try to start the new one in same way.

If that doesn't work, eclipse.ini in the old Eclipse likely has some lines like these

-vm
C:\whatever\java-25\bin\javaw.exe

Just edit eclipse.ini in the new one and add what you had in the old one.

If that does not work, please report issue at https://github.com/eclipse-equinox/equinox/issues.

[Monniasza]

It seems that Equinox is not bundled with that Eclipse release, so it doesn't start up.

[Monniasza]

@iloveeclipse I had to install Java 25 before it opened. The same error still occurs when using the version you gave me.

[stephan-herrmann]

I can reproduce.

What I see is a deep stack with unhappy re-entrance:

BinaryTypeBinding.evaluateTypeQualifierDefault(ReferenceBinding) line: 2324									(17)
MarkerAnnotation(Annotation).determineNonNullByDefaultTagBits(ReferenceBinding, MemberValuePair) line: 457	
MarkerAnnotation(Annotation).detectStandardAnnotation(Scope, ReferenceBinding, MemberValuePair) line: 424	
MarkerAnnotation(Annotation).resolveType(BlockScope) line: 964												(16)
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding, boolean) line: 902	
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding) line: 793	
SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits() line: 1186															(14)
PlainPackageBinding(PackageBinding).initDefaultNullness() line: 328	
PlainPackageBinding(PackageBinding).getDefaultNullness() line: 340	
SourceTypeBinding.evaluateNullAnnotations() line: 2337	
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding) line: 795										(13)
SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits() line: 1186	
LookupEnvironment.initializeUsesNullTypeAnnotation() line: 1794	
LookupEnvironment.usesNullTypeAnnotations() line: 1759	
LookupEnvironment.usesNullTypeAnnotations() line: 1754														(12)
BinaryTypeBinding.scanFieldForNullAnnotation(..) line: 1958													(11)
BinaryTypeBinding.cachePartsFrom2(IBinaryType, boolean) line: 611	
BinaryTypeBinding.cachePartsFrom(IBinaryType, boolean) line: 441	
LookupEnvironment.createBinaryTypeFrom(IBinaryType, PackageBinding, boolean, AccessRestriction) line: 1126	
LookupEnvironment.createBinaryTypeFrom(IBinaryType, PackageBinding, AccessRestriction) line: 1107	
CompilationUnitResolver(Compiler).accept(IBinaryType, PackageBinding, AccessRestriction) line: 183	
LookupEnvironment.askForType(char[][], ModuleBinding) line: 324	
UnresolvedReferenceBinding.resolve(LookupEnvironment, boolean) line: 116	
BinaryTypeBinding.resolveType(TypeBinding, LookupEnvironment, boolean) line: 244	
ParameterizedTypeBinding.resolve() line: 1210	
BinaryTypeBinding.resolveType(TypeBinding, LookupEnvironment, boolean) line: 215	
BinaryTypeBinding.superclass() line: 2393																	(10)
CompilationUnitScope.findStaticMethod(ReferenceBinding, char[]) line: 742	
CompilationUnitScope.findSingleStaticImport(char[][], int) line: 712										(9)
CompilationUnitScope.checkMoreStaticBindings(char[][], HashtableOfType, int, ImportReference) line: 1043	
CompilationUnitScope.faultInImports() line: 571	
MethodScope(Scope).getBinding(char[], int, InvocationSite, boolean) line: 2189	
SingleNameReference.resolveType(BlockScope) line: 1000														(8)
MemberValuePair.resolveTypeExpecting(BlockScope, TypeBinding) line: 96	
SingleMemberAnnotation(Annotation).resolveType(BlockScope) line: 923										(7)
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding, boolean) line: 902	
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding) line: 793	
SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits() line: 1186	
SourceTypeBinding.retrieveAnnotationHolder(Binding, long) line: 2440	
SourceTypeBinding.retrieveAnnotationHolder(Binding, boolean) line: 2434	
SourceTypeBinding(ReferenceBinding).retrieveAnnotations(Binding) line: 1974	
SourceTypeBinding(ReferenceBinding).getAnnotations() line: 1082												(6)
BinaryTypeBinding.evaluateTypeQualifierDefault(ReferenceBinding) line: 2323									(5)
MarkerAnnotation(Annotation).determineNonNullByDefaultTagBits(ReferenceBinding, MemberValuePair) line: 457	(4)
MarkerAnnotation(Annotation).detectStandardAnnotation(Scope, ReferenceBinding, MemberValuePair) line: 424	(3)
MarkerAnnotation(Annotation).resolveType(BlockScope) line: 964	
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding, boolean) line: 902	
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding) line: 793	
SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits() line: 1186	
PlainPackageBinding(PackageBinding).initDefaultNullness() line: 328	
PlainPackageBinding(PackageBinding).getDefaultNullness() line: 340											(2)
SourceTypeBinding.evaluateNullAnnotations() line: 2337	
ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding) line: 795	
SourceTypeBinding.getAnnotationTagBits() line: 1186	
TypeDeclaration.updateSupertypesWithAnnotations(Map<ReferenceBinding,ReferenceBinding>) line: 1878			(1)
CompilationUnitScope.integrateAnnotationsInHierarchy() line: 421	

Commenting bottom up:

1. After building and connecting type bindings for VEB.deeper.AnotherClass.java we are about to integrate annotations into the hierarchy
2. In order to include implicit annotations we look if the package as @NonNullByDefault
3. After finding an annotation on the package we check if it is any standard annotation
4. As it is @NonNullByDefault indeed, we need to determine if it has been fine tuned for specific locations
5. Since no member-value pairs are found, we are left which checking whether a @TypeQualifiedDefault annotation exists on the declaration of annotation type NonNullByDefault
6. Ergo we try resolving annotations on the declaratoin of NonNullByDefault
7. Having found 2 annotations (@Documented @Retention(RUNTIME)) we engage in resolving these, 1st one is smooth, 2nd one is more interesting
8. We are trying to resolve RUNTIME (to an enum constant)
9. Since RetentionPolicy hasn't been resolved, this is the point when the static import is resolved (java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME)
10. This involves resolving the supertype Enum
11. Since annotation based null analysis is enabled, also for members of Enum we must check if any null annotations exist.
12. Unfortunately we haven't yet checked whether configured null annotations are TYPE_USE annotations, do it now.
13. Ergo we need to inspect the meta annotations of types like VEB.Nullable
14. Since that annotation type sits in package VEB resolving and evaluating its (meta) annotations involves checking if VEB.package-info has @NonNullByDefault -- Surprise: package VEB is indeed @NonNullByDefault annotated
15. Hence we need to evaluate meta annotations of NonNullByDefault (looking for @TypeQualifierDefault)
16. The array of annotations has two elements:
    • @Documented
    • null

The null in the final line is exactly the annotation which is being resolved in level 7ff.

[stephan-herrmann]

The workaround is straight forward: remove @NonNullByDefault from package VEB. This declaration creates a cyclic dependency, since any type in this package needs to resolve NonNullByDefault before it can be further analysed, including NonNullByDefault itself.

[stephan-herrmann]

One thing is strange in the implementation: When ASTNode.resolveAnnotations(BlockScope, Annotation[], Binding, boolean) creates an array of annotation bindings, if first stores the array in the SourceTypeBinding (for everyone to see), and only later it populates the array with actual annotation bindings. During that process it's obvious that clients will see a partially filled array. Note in particular, that skipping nulls in this situations would be wrong, any null might be the placeholder for the very thing we are looking for. Answering "not found" would be cheating.

I can, however, imagine hell breaking loose if I try to reverse the order of steps in resolveAnnotations() 👿
(This design exists since 2006, i.e., around the time when annotations were introduced in Java).

[stephan-herrmann]

I can, however, imagine hell breaking loose if I try to reverse the order of steps in resolveAnnotations()

That experiment ran better than I thought, but still it introduces semantic errors, notably some tests failed because deprecated-since values were dropped.

I guess the best I can offer is raising an AbortException (instead of the NPE), which at least will be caught upstream.

Interestingly I'm not seeing the exception during regular compilation, which also means the abort may never be reported to the user. I still need to figure out this difference between editor and compilation.

[stephan-herrmann]

Interestingly I'm not seeing the exception during regular compilation, which also means the abort may never be reported to the user. I still need to figure out this difference between editor and compilation.

I managed to see the NPE even during regular compilation (in a test). Instead of raising AbortException I then chose to report an internal warning and continue.

Ups, forgot the link in the commit message, here it is: #4680