Evil Java habits

Allen Holub has published two articles for JavaWorld discouraging the use of two habits my teacher taught us in Introduction to Programming and AP Computer Science A: the extends keyword and accessor/modifier methods.

Holub suggests using the implements keyword instead of extends. What other changes to coding this may entail is unknown to me, because he uses terminology that might as well be Greek to me. Holub also discourages use of getX and setX methods, in favor of properties (via the upcoming @property keyword, due for Java 1.5). I rather like this idea, because the first programming language I learned was Microsoft Visual Basic, in which properties are king.

I wonder what Michael and Mr. Hoar have to say about all this…

Thanks to Simon Willison for the story.