Another common trait is that they are indeed "little"?that is, short, concise, with a strong focus on the essential, and necessary. Avoid any distractions; get to the point. 

The Elements of Java Style provides rules for programming in Java. The authors list 108 rules for improving Java programs, which cover: 

• General principles , such as "Adhere to the Principle of Least Astonishment."
• Formatting conventions , such as "Break up long lines," "Don't use hard tabs," etc. 
• Naming conventions for packages, types, methods, variables, and constants. Here you find common-sense rules like "Use meaningful names," as well as the recommendation to stick to the naming conventions demonstrated by the JDK. These rules have become common practice in the Java community and there is no good reason to deviate from these conventions. 
• Documentation conventions for comment style and use of Javadoc tags, but also recommendations for content such as "Document synchronization semantics" and "Document preconditions, postconditions, and invariant conditions." 
• Programming conventions , the most exciting part of the book, which passes on common wisdom that stems from object-oriented programming, such as "The Liskov-Substitution Principle" or "The Open-Closed Principle," as well as Java-specific rules such as "Use euqls(), not ==, to test for equality" or "Do not call nonfinal methods from within a constructor." It covers various aspects of Java programming including exceptions, concurrency, and synchronization. 
• Packaging conventions , such as "The Acyclic Dependencies Principle." 

Where is the grain of salt, then? Well, The Elements of Java Style should not be misconstrued as a being a style guide in the sense that it only suggests one certain style and everybody else should feel free to choose another, more personal, more company-specific style. That's not the intent. This little book is more a compendium of common wisdom that has been distilled from years of programming practice. Much of it will sound like common sense to the experienced. Nevertheless, a little book like this is a good way to pass on the distilled "common sense" to novices to whom the rules do not yet sound familiar. On the other hand, this book is definitely not the right source for simply learning Java. The rules are intended to remind you of what you should already know and keep an eye on. As a reminder and a sort of checklist, it is equally useful to experienced programmers as well as to reviewers and quality assurance groups. 

In sum, this book covers base knowledge required of every Java programmer. As a historical anecdote, The Elements of Java Style was inspired by the Rogue Wave C++ Guide, a technical report at Rogue Wave Software , a provider of C++ libraries. The quality of their C++ code is vital to the company's success and the C++ Guide is mandatory reading for every C++ programmer at RWS. The Elements of Java Style has the potential to do the same for Java programmers.

Angelika Langer develops and teaches classes on advanced C++, STL, multithreading, internationalization, and Java. She served on the ANSI/ISO C++ Committee from 1993 to 1998. Klaus Kreft is a software architect and consultant with 15+ years of experience in industrial software development. He works for Siemens Business Services in Germany. Langer and Kreft are authors of "Standard C++ IOStreams and Locales: Advanced Programmer's Guide and Reference" (Addison-Wesley, 1999) and are columnists for C++ Report magazine.