Developer notes

Today I started using EclEmma which is a free Java code coverage tool for Eclipse IDE.

Basically it helps to identify the areas in your code that are (and are not) covered by a test case. This will help to improve the way you code and create JUnits.  You may become the one in your team with a 100% code coverage  :)

More info here.

Find Bugs is a free software (distributed under the terms of Lesser GNU Public License) to help developers to find potential bugs in the java code. 

You can get FindBugs here. There are several options to run it: GUI, ant task or Eclipse plugin.

FindBugs GUI – Steps:

1. Create Project. Add classes, jars or folder containing your java classes.
2. Running the Analysis. Click on Finish button to analyze the selected classes.
3. Verify the Results. You will get a list of potential bugs detected.
4. You can save/open the project.

What type of bugs you can find?

Probable bug, a bad practice or code that is confusing (dodgy).

Bugs descriptions:

Method might ignore exception.
Comparison of String parameter using == or !=
Class defines hashCode() and uses Object.equals()
Field names should start with a lower case letter
etc …

More useful information in the Manual.

Find Bugs has been used in a lot of projects, if you don´t, what are you wainting for: It´s free, you can have the Eclipse plug-in and run on demand or you can integrate it in your build.