Java Core Knowledge

Modern Java Features (17+)

// Records (immutable data classes)
public record User(Long id, String name, String email) {}

// Sealed classes
public sealed interface Shape permits Circle, Rectangle {}
public final class Circle implements Shape { }
public final class Rectangle implements Shape { }

// Pattern matching for instanceof
if (obj instanceof String s) {
    System.out.println(s.toUpperCase());
}

// Switch expressions
String result = switch (status) {
    case ACTIVE -> "Active";
    case INACTIVE -> "Inactive";
    default -> "Unknown";
};

// Text blocks
String json = """
    {
        "name": "John",
        "age": 30
    }
    """;

Collections & Streams

// Stream operations
List<String> names = users.stream()
    .filter(u -> u.isActive())
    .map(User::getName)
    .sorted()
    .collect(Collectors.toList());

// Grouping
Map<Status, List<User>> byStatus = users.stream()
    .collect(Collectors.groupingBy(User::getStatus));

// Optional handling
Optional<User> user = findById(id);
String name = user.map(User::getName).orElse("Unknown");

Common Patterns

// Builder pattern
User user = User.builder()
    .name("John")
    .email("john@example.com")
    .build();

// Factory method
public static User of(String name, String email) {
    return new User(null, name, email);
}

// Dependency Injection (constructor)
@Service
public class UserService {
    private final UserRepository repository;

    public UserService(UserRepository repository) {
        this.repository = repository;
    }
}

Exception Handling

// Custom exception
public class UserNotFoundException extends RuntimeException {
    public UserNotFoundException(Long id) {
        super("User not found: " + id);
    }
}

// Try-with-resources
try (var reader = new BufferedReader(new FileReader(file))) {
    return reader.lines().collect(Collectors.toList());
}

Static Analysis & Linting

Official Rules References

| Tool | Rules Count | Documentation | |------|-------------|---------------| | SonarJava | 733 | https://rules.sonarsource.com/java/ | | Checkstyle | 200+ | https://checkstyle.org/checks.html | | PMD | 400+ | https://pmd.github.io/latest/pmd_rules_java.html | | SpotBugs | 400+ | https://spotbugs.readthedocs.io/en/latest/bugDescriptions.html |

Style Guides

| Guide | Link | |-------|------| | Google Java Style | https://google.github.io/styleguide/javaguide.html | | Oracle Code Conventions | https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/javase/codeconventions-contents.html |

Key Rules Categories

<!-- pom.xml - Maven Checkstyle Plugin -->
<plugin>
    <groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
    <artifactId>maven-checkstyle-plugin</artifactId>
    <version>3.3.1</version>
    <configuration>
        <configLocation>google_checks.xml</configLocation>
    </configuration>
</plugin>

Critical Rules to Enable

| Category | Rule | Tool | |----------|------|------| | Bug | NullPointerException risks | SonarJava S2259 | | Bug | Resource leaks | SonarJava S2095 | | Security | SQL Injection | SonarJava S3649 | | Security | Hardcoded credentials | SonarJava S2068 | | Maintainability | Cognitive complexity | SonarJava S3776 | | Maintainability | Too many parameters | Checkstyle |

Production Readiness

Error Handling

// Custom exception hierarchy
public abstract class BaseException extends RuntimeException {
    private final String errorCode;
    private final int httpStatus;

    protected BaseException(String message, String errorCode, int httpStatus) {
        super(message);
        this.errorCode = errorCode;
        this.httpStatus = httpStatus;
    }

    public String getErrorCode() { return errorCode; }
    public int getHttpStatus() { return httpStatus; }
}

public class EntityNotFoundException extends BaseException {
    public EntityNotFoundException(String entity, Object id) {
        super(
            String.format("%s not found with id: %s", entity, id),
            "NOT_FOUND",
            404
        );
    }
}

// Global exception handler
@RestControllerAdvice
public class GlobalExceptionHandler {
    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(GlobalExceptionHandler.class);

    @ExceptionHandler(BaseException.class)
    public ResponseEntity<ErrorResponse> handleBaseException(BaseException ex) {
        log.warn("Business error: {}", ex.getMessage());
        return ResponseEntity
            .status(ex.getHttpStatus())
            .body(new ErrorResponse(ex.getErrorCode(), ex.getMessage()));
    }

    @ExceptionHandler(Exception.class)
    public ResponseEntity<ErrorResponse> handleUnexpected(Exception ex) {
        log.error("Unexpected error", ex);
        return ResponseEntity
            .status(500)
            .body(new ErrorResponse("INTERNAL_ERROR", "An unexpected error occurred"));
    }
}

Null Safety

// Use Optional properly
public Optional<User> findById(Long id) {
    return repository.findById(id);
}

// Never return null from Optional
public User getById(Long id) {
    return findById(id)
        .orElseThrow(() -> new EntityNotFoundException("User", id));
}

// Use @Nullable and @NonNull annotations
import org.springframework.lang.NonNull;
import org.springframework.lang.Nullable;

public User updateUser(@NonNull Long id, @Nullable String email) {
    User user = getById(id);
    if (email != null) {
        user.setEmail(email);
    }
    return repository.save(user);
}

// Validation
import jakarta.validation.constraints.*;

public record CreateUserRequest(
    @NotBlank @Size(min = 2, max = 100) String name,
    @NotBlank @Email String email,
    @NotNull @Min(0) Integer age
) {}

Logging

import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;
import org.slf4j.MDC;

@Service
public class UserService {
    private static final Logger log = LoggerFactory.getLogger(UserService.class);

    public User createUser(CreateUserRequest request) {
        MDC.put("operation", "createUser");
        MDC.put("email", request.email());

        log.info("Creating user");

        try {
            User user = userRepository.save(User.from(request));
            log.info("User created successfully: {}", user.getId());
            return user;
        } catch (Exception e) {
            log.error("Failed to create user", e);
            throw e;
        } finally {
            MDC.clear();
        }
    }
}

Testing

// Unit test with Mockito
@ExtendWith(MockitoExtension.class)
class UserServiceTest {
    @Mock
    private UserRepository repository;

    @InjectMocks
    private UserService service;

    @Test
    void shouldCreateUser() {
        // Given
        var request = new CreateUserRequest("John", "john@example.com", 30);
        var expected = new User(1L, "John", "john@example.com", 30);
        when(repository.save(any())).thenReturn(expected);

        // When
        var result = service.createUser(request);

        // Then
        assertThat(result).isEqualTo(expected);
        verify(repository).save(any());
    }

    @Test
    void shouldThrowWhenUserNotFound() {
        // Given
        when(repository.findById(1L)).thenReturn(Optional.empty());

        // When/Then
        assertThatThrownBy(() -> service.getById(1L))
            .isInstanceOf(EntityNotFoundException.class)
            .hasMessageContaining("User not found");
    }
}

// Integration test
@SpringBootTest
@AutoConfigureMockMvc
@Testcontainers
class UserControllerIT {
    @Container
    static PostgreSQLContainer<?> postgres = new PostgreSQLContainer<>("postgres:16-alpine");

    @Autowired
    private MockMvc mockMvc;

    @Test
    void shouldCreateUser() throws Exception {
        mockMvc.perform(post("/api/users")
                .contentType(MediaType.APPLICATION_JSON)
                .content("""
                    {"name": "John", "email": "john@example.com", "age": 30}
                    """))
            .andExpect(status().isCreated())
            .andExpect(jsonPath("$.id").exists());
    }
}

Performance

// Connection pooling (HikariCP)
// application.yml
spring:
  datasource:
    hikari:
      maximum-pool-size: 10
      minimum-idle: 5
      connection-timeout: 30000
      idle-timeout: 600000

// Caching
@Cacheable(value = "users", key = "#id")
public User findById(Long id) {
    return repository.findById(id).orElseThrow();
}

@CacheEvict(value = "users", key = "#user.id")
public User save(User user) {
    return repository.save(user);
}

Monitoring Metrics

| Metric | Target | |--------|--------| | Test coverage | > 80% | | Cyclomatic complexity | < 10 | | SonarQube bugs | 0 | | Security vulnerabilities | 0 |

Checklist

[ ] Custom exception hierarchy
[ ] Global exception handler
[ ] Bean validation on DTOs
[ ] Optional for nullable returns
[ ] @NonNull/@Nullable annotations
[ ] Structured logging with MDC
[ ] Unit tests with Mockito
[ ] Integration tests with Testcontainers
[ ] Connection pool configured
[ ] Caching for hot data

When NOT to Use This Skill

| Scenario | Use Instead | |----------|-------------| | Spring Boot framework | backend-spring-boot skill | | Lombok annotations | lombok skill | | MapStruct mapping | mapstruct skill | | JPA/Hibernate | ORM-specific skills | | Testing with JUnit | testing-junit skill |

Anti-Patterns

| Anti-Pattern | Why It's Bad | Correct Approach | |--------------|--------------|------------------| | Returning null | NullPointerException | Use Optional | | Catching generic Exception | Hides specific errors | Catch specific exceptions | | Not closing resources | Resource leaks | Use try-with-resources | | Mutable static fields | Thread-safety issues | Use immutable or synchronized | | String concatenation in loops | O(n²) performance | Use StringBuilder | | Empty catch blocks | Silent failures | Log or rethrow | | Using == for strings | Compares references | Use .equals() | | Not overriding equals/hashCode | Broken collections | Override both or neither |

Quick Troubleshooting

| Issue | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|----------| | NullPointerException | Accessing null reference | Check for null, use Optional | | ClassCastException | Wrong type cast | Use instanceof before casting | | ConcurrentModificationException | Modifying while iterating | Use Iterator.remove() | | OutOfMemoryError | Heap exhausted | Increase heap, fix memory leaks | | StackOverflowError | Infinite recursion | Add base case, use iteration | | "Cannot find symbol" | Compilation error | Check imports, spelling | | Deadlock | Circular lock dependency | Use consistent lock ordering | | Resource leak | Not closing streams | Use try-with-resources |