Chapter 7. Java Programming and Documentation Conventions

7.1. Naming and Capitalization Conventions

The following widely adopted naming conventions apply to packages, classes, methods, fields, and constants in Java. Because these conventions are almost universally followed and because they affect the public API of the classes you define, they should be followed carefully:

Packages

Ensure that your package names are unique by prefixing them with the inverted name of your Internet domain (e.g., com.davidflanagan.utils). All package names, or at least their unique prefixes, should be lowercase.

Classes

A class name should begin with a capital letter and be written in mixed case (e.g., String). If a class name consists of more than one word, each word should begin with a capital letter (e.g., StringBuffer). If a class name, or one of the words of a class name, is an acronym, the acronym can be written in all capital letters (e.g., URL, HTMLParser).

Since classes are designed to represent objects, you should choose class names that are nouns (e.g., Thread, Teapot, FormatConverter).

Interfaces

Interface names follow the same capitalization conventions as class names. When an interface is used to provide additional information about the classes that implement it, it is common to choose an interface name that is an adjective (e.g., Runnable, Cloneable, Serializable, DataInput). When an interface works more like an abstract superclass, use a name that is a noun (e.g., Document, FileNameMap, Collection).

Methods

A method name always begins with a lowercase letter. If the name contains more than one word, every word after the first begins with a capital letter (e.g., insert(), insertObject(), insertObjectAt()). Method names are typically chosen so that the first word is a verb. Method names can be as long as is necessary to make their purpose clear, but choose succinct names where possible.

Fields and constants

Nonconstant field names follow the same capitalization conventions as method names. If a field is a static final constant, it should be written in uppercase. If the name of a constant includes more than one word, the words should be separated with underscores (e.g., MAX_VALUE). A field name should be chosen to best describe the purpose of the field or the value it holds.

Parameters

The names of method parameters appear in the documentation for a method, so you should choose names that make the purpose of the parameters as clear as possible. Try to keep parameter names to a single word and use them consistently. For example, if a WidgetProcessor class defines many methods that accept a Widget object as the first parameter, name this parameter widget or even w in each method.

Local variables

Local variable names are an implementation detail and never visible outside your class. Nevertheless, choosing good names makes your code easier to read, understand, and maintain. Variables are typically named following the same conventions as methods and fields.

In addition to the conventions for specific types of names, there are conventions regarding the characters you should use in your names. Java allows the $ character in any identifier, but, by convention, its use is reserved for synthetic names generated by source-code processors. (It is used by the Java compiler, for example, to make inner classes work.) Also, Java allows names to use any alphanumeric characters from the entire Unicode character set. While this can be convenient for non-English-speaking programmers, the use of Unicode characters should typically be restricted to local variables, private methods and fields, and other names that are not part of the public API of a class.

Chapter 7. Java Programming and Documentation Conventions

Contents:

7.1. Naming and Capitalization Conventions