Java Best Practices

Guidance for writing type-safe, concurrent, and modern Java code targeting Java 17+ and Java 21 LTS. Covers null safety, concurrency patterns, and modern language features.

Core Principles

1. Null safety first: Use Optional for return values, @Nullable/@NonNull for parameters
2. Immutability preferred: Use records for data carriers, final fields where possible
3. Explicit error handling: Use checked exceptions sparingly, prefer Result patterns
4. Modern features: Leverage records, sealed classes, and pattern matching
5. Virtual threads for IO: Use virtual threads (Java 21) for IO-bound operations

Type Safety

Use Optional for Return Values