Why Should Coding Standards be Followed?
To keep the code readable and maintainable. It is possible that there will be new members joining your team when you are already working on a project. Or that every once in a while, you may have to work on your teammate’s part of code. It is important to keep the code such that a new/different member is able to understand. This will mean that the person will spend fewer hours understanding the code and features of the project. He/she will be able to contribute more to the project to make it a success. A code that is easy to read and understand is easy to maintain. This fact will play a key role in the success of your project. Pursing a java certification course is always advisable to learn the best practices.
There are a number of standards available online that are easy and workable such as on oracle.
Following are a few coding practices to particularly follow while coding in java:
Java Source File
A java source file is considered proper if it is of less than 2000 lines of code. Plus, the source file should be organised with proper documentation comments, package declarations followed by class comments, etc. The best java certification training can help you learn more about Java source file.
Naming conventions
Having a proper naming convention for identifiers to keep their names meaningful and self-explanatory is important. This will ensure that names are kept not for the sake of the compiler but to ensure the readability and maintainability of the code by the entire team. For example, keeping the name of methods as verbs will help the team know each method’s function.
Redundant Initialisation
It is well known that a variable gets the value of 0, false or null by default only. Thus, it is not required to explicitly initialise a variable with 0 or null as it will cause redundancy. Knowing the default initialisation values of variables in java will help in avoiding this.
Access Modifiers
Java is an OOP language, so it supports all OOP concepts, including encapsulation. All the class members in java code must be as inaccessible as possible to protect the fields. Every class and class members should have proper access modifiers, i.e., public, protected or private, to maintain encapsulation. It is even better if these members are in order of their scope.
Catch Blocks
Java provides a very good way to handle exceptions. But, while using these blocks, it is better not to leave the catch block empty. If the block is left empty and the exception is caught, then the code will silently fail as there is no code to handle the exception thrown. Instead, the catch block should be used properly. The catch block should inform the user about the exception or log the exception in JDK.
Use of Quotes
Everyone knows that we use double quotes for strings and single quotes for characters in java. However, sometimes it is required to use double quotes for characters—for example: when characters are to be concatenated. The concatenation symbol is ‘+’, and if we use single quotes, then the ASCII value of the characters will be taken and added. To avoid that, use double quotes to treat these as strings for concatenation only.
String Manipulation:
Handling strings in java is very easy, but it should be done efficiently. Such as, java uses ‘+’ to concatenate two or more strings in a code. But in cases where there are a lot of strings to concatenate. It is always better to use built-in methods such as StringBuffer() available in java class String for string manipulation. It’s easy, saves memory by preventing string objects created for each string and hence, improves the performance of the code. The best java certification training can teach you about string manipulation.
Avoiding Memory Leaks
Java manages the memory itself automatically, and not much is in control of the developer. However, there are certain practices with which the developer can ensure that there is no memory leakage and no compromise with performance. The use of Finally or dropping the database connections as soon as the querying is over is important.
Proper Commenting
Many people will read your code; you have to make the code maintainable. Thus, it is important to keep the code well equipped with appropriate comments as much as possible. Such as adding implementation comments for each class and method so that the reader understands the gist of it. Proper indentation and formatting should be followed, not only for comments but also for the entire code.
Why Learn Java at LSET?
Java being a famous language that has made its way almost everywhere. LSET offers the best java certification course to learn this language using the best coding practices, which cannot be limited to just these 9 points. The java certification course is constructed to build your skills in the language and give a push to your innovative ideas. You will be encouraged to develop a programming temper and brainstorm to come up with new ideas.