14.1. Coding Java with Style

The readability of source code is especially important when following agile development practices that emphasize community ownership. In addition, readability is essential for open source projects such as Eclipse and Apache where the source code is delivered as a fundamental part of the documentation and provides examples for use and best practices.

But coding standards are about much more than a nice readable format. Following best practices can lead to higher-quality code with fewer bugs, and when there are bugs, they're easier to find and fix.