java

Java Best Practices

This document outlines the definitive best practices for Java development within our team. Adherence to these rules ensures consistent, high-quality, and maintainable code, leveraging modern Java features and enterprise standards.

1. Code Organization and Structure

1.1. Style Guide Adherence

Always follow the Google Java Style Guide for formatting, naming, and structural conventions. Configure your IDE (e.g., IntelliJ IDEA, VS Code with appropriate plugins) to automatically apply this style.

1.2. File Naming and Encoding

Source files must be named after the single top-level class they contain, with a .java extension. All source files must use UTF-8 encoding.

1.3. Indentation and Whitespace

Use 4 spaces for indentation. Never use tabs. For wrapped lines, use 8 spaces (twice the normal indentation).

❌ BAD

public class MyClass {
  void myMethod() {
		// Tab used for indentation
		System.out.println("Hello");
  }
}

✅ GOOD

public class MyClass {
    void myMethod() {
        // 4 spaces for indentation
        System.out.println("Hello");
    }
}

1.4. Braces

Always use K&R style braces for non-empty blocks. Braces are mandatory for if, else, for, do, and while statements, even for single-line bodies.

❌ BAD

if (condition)
    doSomething(); // Missing braces

while (true){ // Bad K&R style
    doSomething();
}

✅ GOOD

if (condition) {
    doSomething();
}

while (true) {
    doSomethingElse();
}

1.5. Package and Import Statements

Every class must belong to a package. Use explicit imports; wildcard imports (*) are forbidden. Imports are ordered: static imports, then non-static imports, separated by a single blank line, both groups in ASCII sort order.

❌ BAD

import java.util.*; // Wildcard import
import static com.example.Constants.*; // Wildcard static import

public class MyClass { /* ... */ }