@Override public int preceding(int offset){
  CharacterIterator text=getText();
  checkOffset(offset,text);
  text.setIndex(offset);
  return previous();
}

@ Override public int preceding ( int offset ) { CharacterIterator text = getText ( ) ; checkOffset ( offset , text ) ; text . setIndex ( offset ) ; return previous ( ) ; }
sets the iterator to refer to the last boundary position before the specified position .
