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Variables and parameters should not be gratuitously decorated with the final
keyword. ; (This is an out-dated convention from Java 1.1 era). Let the Java compiler do its work of optimizing the code for you.
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Otherwise, let the Java compiler/optimizer to its work. The final
keyword should also be used to on class declarations to make objects of the class immutableprevent it from being extended. For example, utility classes or collections of constants.
On a related note, even though method parameters are not decorated with final, they should still be treated as final; it is considered bad coding practice to modify a parameter within the method. The same behavior can always be achieved with local variables.
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