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if ( foo.equals("bar") ) { // ... }

Here, foo may be null, so instead use

if ( "bar".equals(foo) ) { // ... }

This pattern generalizes to using the equals method of the concrete object (put the non-null object on the left side).

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You can use instanceof to ensure an object is the proper type (this can replace a null check), as in

if ( arg1 instanceof String ) { // ... }

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As of Java 1.5 you can declare methods with variable arity, making the syntax a little cleaner and invocation a bit simpler. The old style:

public static void main(String[] args)

becomes

public static void main(String... args)

which can then be called like this:

main("seth", "for", "president")

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Errors and Exceptions derive from Throwable, so you can catch all program hiccups by catching Throwable instead of Exception (or Error).

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Local variables are not initialized with a value; field variables are initialized like so:

Number primitives default to 0.

Objects (Collections) default to null.

Booleans default to false.

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Java has labels, but most people will not appreciate their inclusion and use. For example, the following code is valid Java

http://www.sethholloway.com

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In mixed-type computation, Java upconverts to the larger data type due to widening primitive conversion. Avoid mixed-type computation and comparisons.

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“Although common, the idiom object.getClass().getMethod("methodName") is broken and should not be used.” – Java Puzzlers sample

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The finally block of a try-catch-finally will always execute (unless there’s a hard crash, System.exit(), System.halt(), or infinite loop before). As such, be careful with returns and mutating objects in the try and finally.

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