stanfordnlp/CoreNLP · error · IllegalStateException

Either logic is broken or Gabor can't code.

Error message

Either logic is broken or Gabor can't code.

What it means

After computing min/max in Util.tokensToSpan, if min >= max (a zero-width or inverted span) the code throws IllegalStateException with the tongue-in-cheek message "Either logic is broken or Gabor can't code." Given the loop, min = index-1 and max = index for the same token, so this should be impossible and signals corrupted token indices or a logic bug.

Solutions

1. Verify token indices are sane (1-based, sequential) before calling tokensToSpan
2. Check for custom HasIndex implementations with incorrect index() behavior
3. Report as a bug with the token indices if reproducible

Example fix

// before
Span s = Util.tokensToSpan(badTokens);
// after
boolean ok = badTokens.stream().allMatch(t -> t.index() >= 1);
Span s = ok ? Util.tokensToSpan(badTokens) : null;

long count = tokens.stream().mapToInt(HasIndex::index).distinct().count();
if (tokens.isEmpty() || count == 0) return null;

boolean saneIndices(List<? extends HasIndex> toks) { return toks.stream().allMatch(t -> t.index() >= 1 && t.index() < 100000); }

try { return Util.tokensToSpan(tokens); } catch (IllegalStateException e) { return null; /* log as bug */ }

When it happens

Trigger: Calling Util.tokensToSpan with tokens whose indices are inconsistent such that the computed min >= max — realistically only via integer overflow, corrupt token indices, or a modified implementation of the loop.

Common situations: Custom HasIndex implementations returning pathological values; patched versions of the method; essentially never in normal use.

Understand the failure class

Background: "This is a bug, please report it": internal invariant violations, unreachable panics, and SNH errors explained — this error's family across 47 libraries.

Related errors

• oldTag starts with B, entity at position should not be null
• Unknown minimizer
• node cliqueFeatures[n]=
• edge cliqueFeatures[n]=
• : Inconsistent u2b/b2u arrays.

AI-assisted analysis of stanfordnlp/CoreNLP@1b7edd19c4 (2026-09-10). Data as JSON: /api/errors/6eaa05429e8766f7. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/edu/stanford/nlp/naturalli/Util.java:627

  }});

  /**
   * Construct the spanning span of the given list of tokens.
   *
   * @param tokens The tokens that should define the span.
   * @return A span (0-indexed) that covers all of the tokens.
   */
  public static Span tokensToSpan(List<? extends HasIndex> tokens) {
    int min = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
    int max = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
    for (HasIndex token : tokens) {
      min = Math.min(token.index() - 1, min);
      max = Math.max(token.index(), max);
    }
    if (min < 0 || max == Integer.MAX_VALUE) {
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("Could not compute span from tokens!");
    } else if (min >= max) {
      throw new IllegalStateException("Either logic is broken or Gabor can't code.");
    } else {
      return new Span(min, max);
    }
  }
}

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