Adventures in CheckStyle

I [blogged](https://gregluck.com/blog/archives/2004/09/checkstyle_34.html) recently about the new features in [checkstyle 3.4](http://checkstyle.sourceforge.net/) and their application to an open source project of mine, [ehcache](ehcache.sf.net).
Applying the changes to ehcache was relatively straightforward. This week I applied them to a large project that has been going for 18 months. So far it has taken me all week to do so. Interestingly the same 5-10 classes kept coming up as requiring suppression of a CheckStyle check. We always knew those classes smelt but now the smell is overpowering.


DeclarationOrder
==========
The [DeclarationOrder](http://checkstyle.sourceforge.net/config_coding.html#DeclarationOrder) check has proven to be quite troublesome. Not surprisingly most of our classes were loosely in conformance with the Sun [standard](http://java.sun.com/docs/codeconv/html/CodeConventions.doc2.html#1852) for Java source file organisation. The idea here is that it supports code standards and collective code ownership.
Jalopy

Published
Categorized as Java

By Greg Luck

As Terracotta’s CTO, Greg (@gregrluck) is entrusted with understanding market and technology forces and the business drivers that impact Terracotta’s product innovation and customer success. He helps shape company and technology strategy and designs many of the features in Terracotta’s products. Greg came to Terracotta on the acquisition of the popular caching project Ehcache which he founded in 2003. Prior to joining Terracotta, Greg served as Chief Architect at Australian online travel giant Wotif.com. He also served as a lead consultant for ThoughtWorks on accounts in the United States and Australia, was CIO at Virgin Blue, Tempo Services, Stamford Hotels and Resorts and Australian Resorts and spent seven years as a Chartered Accountant in KPMG’s small business and insolvency divisions. He is a regular speaker at conferences and contributor of articles to the technical press.