Practical Java (TM) Programming Language Guide

Preface.


Acknowledgments.
GENERAL TECHNIQUES.

Praxis 1: Understand that parameters are passed by value, not by reference.
Praxis 2: Use final for constant data and constant object references.
Praxis 3: Understand that all non-static methods can be overridden by default.
Praxis 4: Choose carefully between arrays and Vectors.
Praxis 5: Prefer polymorphism to instance of.
Praxis 6: Use instance of only when you must.
Praxis 7: Set object references to null when they are no longer needed.
OBJECTS AND EQUALITY.

Praxis 8: Differentiate between reference and primitive types.
Praxis 9: Differentiate between == and equals.
Praxis 10: Do not rely on the default implementation of equals.
Praxis 11: Implement the equals method judiciously.
Praxis 12: Prefer get Class in equals method implementations.
Praxis 13: Call super. equals of base classes.
Praxis 14: Consider carefully instance of in equals method implementations.
Praxis 15: Follow these rules when implementing an equals method.
EXCEPTION HANDLING.

Praxis 16: Know the mechanics of exception control flow.
Praxis 17: Never ignore an exception.
Praxis 18: Never hide an exception.
Praxis 19: Consider the drawback to the throws clause.
Praxis 20: Be specific and comprehensive with the throws clause.
Praxis 21: Use finally to avoid resource leaks.
Praxis 22: Do not return from a try block.
Praxis 23: Place try/catch blocks outside of loops.
Praxis 24: Do not use exceptions for control flow.
Praxis 25: Do not use exceptions for every error condition.
Praxis 26: Throw exceptions from constructors.
Praxis 27: Return objects to a valid state before throwing an exception.
PERFORMANCE.

Praxis 28: Focus initially on design, data structures, and algorithms.
Praxis 29: Do not rely on compile-time code optimization.
Praxis 30: Understand runtime code optimization.
Praxis 31: Use String Buffer, rather than String, for concatenation.
Praxis 32: Minimize the cost of object creation.
Praxis 33: Guard against unused objects.
Praxis 34: Minimize synchronization.
Praxis 35: Use stack variables whenever possible.
Praxis 36: Use static, final, and private methods to allow in lining.
Praxis 37: Initialize instance variables only once.
Praxis 38: Use primitive types for faster and smaller code.
Praxis 39: Do not use an Enumeration or an Iterator to traverse a Vector.
Praxis 40: Use System array copy for copying arrays.
Praxis 41: Prefer an array to a Vector or Array List.
Praxis 42: Reuse objects whenever possible.
Praxis 43: Use lazy evaluation.
Praxis 44: Optimize source code by hand.
Praxis 45: Compile to native code.
MULTITHREADING.

Praxis 46: Understand that for instance methods, synchronized locks objects, not methods or code.
Praxis 47: Distinguish between synchronized statics and synchronized instance methods.
Praxis 48: Use private data with an accessor method instead of public or protected data.
Praxis 49: Avoid unnecessary synchronization.
Praxis 50: Use synchronized or volatile when accessing shared variables.
Praxis 51: Lock all objects involved in a single operation.
Praxis 52: Acquire multiple locks in a fixed, global order to avoid deadlock.
Praxis 53: Prefer notify All to notify.
Praxis 54: Use spin locks for wait and notify All.
Praxis 55: Use wait and notify All instead of polling loops.
Praxis 56: Do not reassign the object reference of a locked object.
Praxis 57: Do not invoke the stop or suspend methods.
Praxis 58: Terminate threads through thread cooperation. Classes and Interfaces.
Praxis 59: Use interfaces to support multiple inheritance.
Praxis 60: Avoid method clashes in interfaces.
Praxis 61: Use abstract classes when it makes sense to provide a partial implementation.
Praxis 62: Differentiate between an interface, abstract class, and concrete class.
Praxis 63: Define and implement immutable classes judiciously.
Praxis 64: Use clone for immutable objects when passing or receiving object references to mutable objects.
Praxis 65: Use inheritance or delegation to define immutable classes.
Praxis 66: Call super. clone when implementing a clone method.
Praxis 67: Do not rely on finalize methods for non-memory resource cleanup.
Praxis 68: Use care when calling non-final methods from constructors.
Appendix: Learning Java.
Further Reading.
Index.
Colophon. 0201616467T04062001