Class Organization

Following the standard Java convention, a class should begin with a list of variables. Public static constants, if any, should come first. Then private static variables, followed by private instance variables. There is seldom a good reason to have a public variable.

Public functions should follow the list of variables. We like to put the private utilities called by a public function right after the public function itself. This follows the stepdown rule and helps the program read like a newspaper article.