CS 3291 (Java with Internet Applications):
Programming Style

Indentation style.

Choose an indentation style that reflects program structure and use it consistently.

Choice of names.

Choose meaningful, descriptive names for classes, variables, and methods. It is sensible to adopt some convention for capitalization of names; a widely-used convention is to begin names of classes with a capital letter and names of variables and methods with a lowercase letter.

Comments.

Precede each class definition with comments describing its meaning and usage. Precede each method definition with comments describing its usage, including a description of its arguments and return value (if any). Use comments within the code as needed for clarity -- to explain any tricky bits, to further describe variables, etc.

Appropriate use of Java features.

Strive to make good use of what Java provides, in particular the object-oriented approach and the core classes. The sample programs are intended to demonstrate reasonable (not necessarily optimal) examples of this. It has been said, for example, that a determined Fortran programmer can write Fortran programs in any language, but I don't regard this as good style.