--- a/jdk/src/share/classes/sun/swing/SwingUtilities2.java	Mon Sep 21 01:26:57 2009 -0700
+++ b/jdk/src/share/classes/sun/swing/SwingUtilities2.java	Mon Sep 21 17:58:09 2009 +0400
@@ -250,15 +250,23 @@
      * Returns the left side bearing of the first character of string. The
      * left side bearing is calculated from the passed in
      * FontMetrics.  If the passed in String is less than one
-     * character, this will throw a StringIndexOutOfBoundsException exception.
+     * character {@code 0} is returned.
      *
      * @param c JComponent that will display the string
      * @param fm FontMetrics used to measure the String width
      * @param string String to get the left side bearing for.
+     * @throws NullPointerException if {@code string} is {@code null}
+     *
+     * @return the left side bearing of the first character of string
+     * or {@code 0} if the string is empty
      */
     public static int getLeftSideBearing(JComponent c, FontMetrics fm,
                                          String string) {
-        return getLeftSideBearing(c, fm, string.charAt(0));
+        int res = 0;
+        if (!string.isEmpty()) {
+            res = getLeftSideBearing(c, fm, string.charAt(0));
+        }
+        return res;
     }
 
     /**

--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/jdk/test/javax/swing/JMenuItem/6883341/bug6883341.java	Mon Sep 21 17:58:09 2009 +0400
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright 2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.
+ * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
+ *
+ * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
+ * published by the Free Software Foundation.
+ *
+ * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+ * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+ * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License
+ * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
+ * accompanied this code).
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
+ * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
+ * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
+ *
+ * Please contact Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara,
+ * CA 95054 USA or visit www.sun.com if you need additional information or
+ * have any questions.
+ */
+
+ /*
+ * @test
+ * @bug 6883341
+ * @summary Checks that menu items with no text don't throw an exception
+ * @author Alexander Potochkin
+ * @run main bug6883341
+ */
+
+import javax.swing.*;
+
+public class bug6883341 {
+
+    private static void createGui() {
+        JPopupMenu menu = new JPopupMenu();
+        menu.add(new JMenuItem());
+        menu.setVisible(true);
+        menu.setVisible(false);
+    }
+
+    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
+        SwingUtilities.invokeAndWait(new Runnable() {
+            public void run() {
+                bug6883341.createGui();
+            }
+        });
+    }
+}