Java Standards document

[Gary Ba]

Hi Guys,
Will someone point me to any Java Coding Standards out there.

Thanks,
John

[Campbell Ritchie]

I can find two, which are rather different: 1: JavaRanch 2: Sun. I think both have not been updated for a few years. Wherever you work, there will probably be another set of code conventions.

[Mike Simmons]

Another popular choice is this one:

http://www.ambysoft.com/essays/javaCodingStandards.html

Actually this is really two standards: the free online AmbySoft version, and the version published as The Elements of Java Style. These are similar but different, as the latter came from collaboration with additional coauthors. Both are worth checking out, however.

[Campbell Ritchie]

I haven't seen Mike Simmons' link yet, but I am sure it will be different from the other two. No two people can agree about code conventions.

[Mike Simmons]

Yes they can!!!

[Mike Simmons]

Oh, wait. Nevermind...

[Embla Tingeling]

Campbell Ritchie wrote:No two people can agree about code conventions.

That's why you should always give developers a choise. They either comply with the code convention or quit the company.

[Maneesh Godbole]

uj nossnahoj wrote:
That's why you should always give developers a choise.

Not really. Coding standards or conventions are there for a reason.
Imagine using a third party library or working with someone else's code where the variables are named sObj1, sObj2...and so on, with no comments at all.
I understand standards can vary, but they should be uniform at least across the company. Asking every developer to follow his/her own favorite is just asking for trouble.

[Gary Ba]

Campbell,
Thanks for the link!

John

[Rob Spoor]

Right. Maneesh missed out on the joke made by uj nossnahoj, and a nasty discussion followed. That has all been removed, and if you people want to continue that discussion, that's where the Ranch office is for. I will have non of that here anymore.