What's the Number 1 Java Coding Best Practice?
There are some common known Java coding best practices: use StringBuffer for string concatenation, don't create large objects, cache expensive objects such as DateFormatter, etc.. How important are they? How much performance can you improve by following these practices? 5%, 10%, or 20%? Then, even the most dilligent developers can not claim that they follow all the best practices all the time, especially with so many 'new' frameworks and standards being adopted. Could you have missed anything?