Each rule and guideline is given a unique identifier. These identifiers consist of three parts:
- a three-letter mnemonic representing the section of the standard
- a two-digit numeric value in the range of 00-49 for rules, and 50-99 for guideilnes
- the letter "J" indicates that this is a Java language guideline
The three-letter mnemonic can be used to group similar coding practices and to indicate to which category a coding practice belongs. The numeric value is used to give each coding practice a unique identifier.