Guidelines
Security
This category includes guidelines that are essential for ensuring security of Java-based applications.
Defensive Programming
This chapter contains guidelines for defensive programming. Defensive programming is carefully guarded programming that helps you construct reliable software by designing each component so it protects itself as much as possible, for example, by checking that undocumented assumptions remain valid [Goodliffe 2006].
Best Practices
This category includes guidelines that are
- Essential for ensuring correctness of Java code
- Specific, implementation-level java coding advice
- Have a higher normative requirement than defensive programming category
Program Understandability
Program understandability is the ease with which the program can be understood, that is, the ability to determine what a program does and how it works by reading its source code and accompanying documentation [Grubb 2013]. Another term used to describe this property of source code is readability. Understandable code is easier to maintain because software maintainers are less likely to introduce defects if the code is clear and comprehensible. Understandability helps in manual analysis of source code because it allows the auditor to more easily spot defects and vulnerabilities.
Programmer Misconceptions
This category includes guidelines that address
- Misconceptions about Java APIs and language features
- Assumptions and ambiguity-laced programs
- Situations in which the programmer wanted to do x but ended up doing y