nlpub/watset-java

Calling System.gc() or Runtime.getRuntime().gc() is a bad idea for a simple reason: there is no way to know exactly what will be done under the hood by the JVM because the behavior will depend on its vendor, version and options:

• Will the whole application be frozen during the call?
• Is the -XX:DisableExplicitGC option activated?
• Will the JVM simply ignore the call?
• ...

Like for System.gc(), there is no reason to manually call runFinalization() to force the call of finalization methods of any objects pending finalization.

An application relying on these unpredictable methods is also unpredictable and therefore broken. The task of running the garbage collector and calling finalize() methods should be left exclusively to the JVM.

Looking at the set of methods in a class, including superclass methods, and finding two methods or fields that differ only by capitalization is confusing to users of the class. It is similarly confusing to have a method and a field which differ only in capitalization or a method and a field with exactly the same name and visibility.

In the case of methods, it may have been a mistake on the part of the original developer, who intended to override a superclass method, but instead added a new method with nearly the same name.

Otherwise, this situation simply indicates poor naming. Method names should be action-oriented, and thus contain a verb, which is unlikely in the case where both a method and a member have the same name (with or without capitalization differences). However, renaming a public method could be disruptive to callers. Therefore renaming the member is the recommended action.

Noncompliant Code Example

public class Car{

  public DriveTrain drive;

  public void tearDown(){...}

  public void drive() {...}  // Noncompliant; duplicates field name
}

public class MyCar extends Car{
  public void teardown(){...}  // Noncompliant; not an override. It it really what's intended?

  public void drivefast(){...}

  public void driveFast(){...} //Huh?
}

Compliant Solution

public class Car{

  private DriveTrain drive;

  public void tearDown(){...}

  public void drive() {...}  // field visibility reduced
}

public class MyCar extends Car{
  @Override
  public void tearDown(){...}

  public void drivefast(){...}

  public void driveReallyFast(){...}

}

Looking at the set of methods in a class, including superclass methods, and finding two methods or fields that differ only by capitalization is confusing to users of the class. It is similarly confusing to have a method and a field which differ only in capitalization or a method and a field with exactly the same name and visibility.

In the case of methods, it may have been a mistake on the part of the original developer, who intended to override a superclass method, but instead added a new method with nearly the same name.

Otherwise, this situation simply indicates poor naming. Method names should be action-oriented, and thus contain a verb, which is unlikely in the case where both a method and a member have the same name (with or without capitalization differences). However, renaming a public method could be disruptive to callers. Therefore renaming the member is the recommended action.

Noncompliant Code Example

public class Car{

  public DriveTrain drive;

  public void tearDown(){...}

  public void drive() {...}  // Noncompliant; duplicates field name
}

public class MyCar extends Car{
  public void teardown(){...}  // Noncompliant; not an override. It it really what's intended?

  public void drivefast(){...}

  public void driveFast(){...} //Huh?
}

Compliant Solution

public class Car{

  private DriveTrain drive;

  public void tearDown(){...}

  public void drive() {...}  // field visibility reduced
}

public class MyCar extends Car{
  @Override
  public void tearDown(){...}

  public void drivefast(){...}

  public void driveReallyFast(){...}

}

Checks that the groups of import declarations appear in the order specifiedby the user. If there is an import but its group is not specified in theconfiguration such an import should be placed at the end of the import list.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks the Javadoc paragraph.

Checks that:

• There is one blank line between each of two paragraphs.
• Each paragraph but the first has <p> immediately before the first word, withno space after.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks for long lines.

Rationale: Long lines are hard to read in printouts or if developershave limited screen space for the source code, e.g. if the IDEdisplays additional information like project tree, class hierarchy,etc.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the groups of import declarations appear in the order specifiedby the user. If there is an import but its group is not specified in theconfiguration such an import should be placed at the end of the import list.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks for long lines.

Rationale: Long lines are hard to read in printouts or if developershave limited screen space for the source code, e.g. if the IDEdisplays additional information like project tree, class hierarchy,etc.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the groups of import declarations appear in the order specifiedby the user. If there is an import but its group is not specified in theconfiguration such an import should be placed at the end of the import list.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the order of modifiers conforms to the suggestions inthe JavaLanguage specification, § 8.1.1, 8.3.1, 8.4.3 and9.4. The correct order is:

1. public
2. protected
3. private
4. abstract
5. default
6. static
7. final
8. transient
9. volatile
10. synchronized
11. native
12. strictfp

In additional, modifiers are checked to ensure all annotations aredeclared before all other modifiers.

Rationale: Code is easier to read if everybody follows a standard.

ATTENTION: We skiptype annotations from validation.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the groups of import declarations appear in the order specifiedby the user. If there is an import but its group is not specified in theconfiguration such an import should be placed at the end of the import list.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks the Javadoc paragraph.

Checks that:

• There is one blank line between each of two paragraphs.
• Each paragraph but the first has <p> immediately before the first word, withno space after.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks the Javadoc paragraph.

Checks that:

• There is one blank line between each of two paragraphs.
• Each paragraph but the first has <p> immediately before the first word, withno space after.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that each variable declaration is in its own statement and onits own line.

Rationale: the Java code conventions chapter 6.1 recommends thatdeclarations should be one per line/statement.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks the Javadoc paragraph.

Checks that:

• There is one blank line between each of two paragraphs.
• Each paragraph but the first has <p> immediately before the first word, withno space after.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the order of modifiers conforms to the suggestions inthe JavaLanguage specification, § 8.1.1, 8.3.1, 8.4.3 and9.4. The correct order is:

1. public
2. protected
3. private
4. abstract
5. default
6. static
7. final
8. transient
9. volatile
10. synchronized
11. native
12. strictfp

In additional, modifiers are checked to ensure all annotations aredeclared before all other modifiers.

Rationale: Code is easier to read if everybody follows a standard.

ATTENTION: We skiptype annotations from validation.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the groups of import declarations appear in the order specifiedby the user. If there is an import but its group is not specified in theconfiguration such an import should be placed at the end of the import list.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the groups of import declarations appear in the order specifiedby the user. If there is an import but its group is not specified in theconfiguration such an import should be placed at the end of the import list.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.

Checks that the groups of import declarations appear in the order specifiedby the user. If there is an import but its group is not specified in theconfiguration such an import should be placed at the end of the import list.

This documentation is written and maintained by the Checkstyle community and is covered under the same license as the Checkstyle project.