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Ensure Constant Names Comply with Naming Conventions

Medium
maintainabilityreadability

What is it?​

This practice focuses on ensuring that constant names in your Java code follow a consistent naming convention, typically using uppercase letters with underscores to separate words.

Why apply it?​

Following a consistent naming convention for constants makes your code more readable and helps distinguish constants from variables, which is crucial for maintaining code clarity and preventing errors.

How to fix it?​

Rename constant identifiers to match the project's naming convention, ensuring they are easily recognizable. Utilize IDE refactoring features to update all usages of the constants effectively.

Examples​

Example 1:​

Negative​

The negative example has constants that do not follow the proper naming convention, using lowercase letters.

public class AppConfig {
  public static final int maxConnections = 10;  /* Noncompliant */
  public static final String hostName = "localhost";  /* Noncompliant */

  public void connect() {
    System.out.println("Connecting to " + hostName + " with a maximum of " + maxConnections + " connections.");
  }
}

Example 2:​

Positive​

The positive example follows a proper naming convention for constants, using all uppercase letters with underscores.

public class AppConfig {
  public static final int MAX_CONNECTIONS = 10;  /* Compliant */
  public static final String HOST_NAME = "localhost";  /* Compliant */

  public void connect() {
    System.out.println("Connecting to " + HOST_NAME + " with a maximum of " + MAX_CONNECTIONS + " connections.");
  }
}

Negative​

The negative example does not follow naming conventions for enums, using camel case instead of uppercase letters.

public enum Environment {
  prod("production"),  /* Noncompliant */
  staging("staging"),  /* Noncompliant */
  development("development");  /* Noncompliant */

  private final String description;

  Environment(String description) {
    this.description = description;
  }

  public String getDescription() {
    return description;
  }
}

Example 3:​

Positive​

The positive example adheres to the naming conventions for constants, using uppercase letters separated by underscores in an enum.

public enum Environment {
  PROD("production"),
  STAGING("staging"),
  DEVELOPMENT("development");

  private final String description;

  Environment(String description) {
    this.description = description;
  }

  public String getDescription() {
    return description;
  }
}