(Not So) Stupid Questions

Sometimes the most interesting discussions begin when someone says, "This may be a stupid question, but ...." If the person asking the question has taken the time to think about the problem before asking, the question is often not stupid at all. The uncertainty points out an ambiguity in the specs, holes in the docs, or a search for how more experienced programmers might address a particular problem. From time to time, we will print one of the "(Not So) Stupid Questions" we receive and invite our readers to answer the question in the feedback section.

(Not So) Stupid Questions 20: Primitives and Collections
This "stupid question" is about how collections are defined as only working with objects, yet a simple code example proves it's trivial to add primitives to collections. Nov. 27, 2007

(Not So) Stupid Questions 19: Remote Threaded Event Listener
This "stupid question" is about a scenario in which an application wants to listen to events from a remote box and invoke interface methods, which implies a thread to listen for the methods. But how do you invoke those methods when all the threaded work has to be done in the thread's run() method? Nov. 1, 2007

(Not So) Stupid Questions 18: Reverse Access Modifiers
This "stupid question" is about the idea of "reverse" access modifiers, meaning an annotation or other modifier that would prevent a method from making outside calls. Aug. 16, 2007

(Not So) Stupid Questions 17: Should Code be Clean or D.R.Y.?
This "stupid question" is about the concept of "Don't Repeat Yourself" programming philosophy, and whether it's really compatible with proper object-oriented programming techniques. Jul. 12, 2007

(Not So) Stupid Questions 16: What's the Difference Between Wildcard Generics and no Generics?
This "stupid question" is about the difference between specifying a wildcard generic type versus not using genericized collections at all. Feb. 20, 2007

(Not So) Stupid Questions 15: How Can a Constructor Be Private?
This "stupid question" is about the ability to put a private access modifier on a constructor, making it unavailable to other classes. Nov. 28, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 14: Why Do Pointless if Statements Even Compile?
This "stupid question" is about the fact that if (condition); compiles, even though the erroneous semicolon makes it meaningless. Oct. 24, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 13: The Construction of Constructors
This "stupid question" is about calling a superclass' constructor in your subclass' constructor and why you can only do it in your first statement. Sep. 26, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 12: What's in a Name
This "stupid question" is about the use of the "Java" name in open-source projects, Web sites, companies, and more. Aug. 10, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 11: Guidance
This stupid question" is about about questions themselves: Where is the best place to go for answers to Java questions? Aug. 1, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 10: JAR Files
This "stupid question" is about JAR files. I know I can put all my classes in a JAR file, but what else does it do for me? Jun. 15, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 9: JavaOne
This "stupid question" is about the JavaOne Conference. My company is paying for me to attend. When should I get there? What should I plan on doing? What shouldn't I bother doing? May. 2, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 8: serialVersionUID
This "stupid question" is about the serialVersionUID, which defaults to being a checksum of a class' fields, methods, and other members. Now that some IDEs emit a warning when you don't override it, the questions are: what is it good for, how and why would you override it, and what could go wrong if you do? Mar. 9, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 7: >>, >>>, <<, and ?: operators
This "stupid question" is about the little-used operators >>, >>>, <<, and ?:--what do they do and when are they used? Jan. 17, 2006

(Not So) Stupid Questions 6: Comparability of Minimum, Maximum Dimensions
This "stupid question" is about the definition of AWT/Swing Components' getXXXSize() methods, given that the Dimensions they return are not Comparable. Nov. 24, 2005

(Not So) Stupid Questions 5: Inheritance Versus Interfaces
This "stupid question" is about when to use inheritance and when to offer an interface. Oct. 13, 2005

(Not So) Stupid Questions 4: Assigning Packages
This "stupid question" is about how to best organize your classes in packages. May. 5, 2005

(Not So) Stupid Questions 3: Private Access
This "stupid question" is about how objects of the same type can see each other's privates. Dec. 17, 2004

(Not So) Stupid Questions: (2) String Equality
This "stupid question" is about how String Equality works and explores the constants pool. Apr. 7, 2004

(Not So) Stupid Questions: (1) Static Methods
Our first "stupid question" is whether you should use static methods whenever possible. Dec. 30, 2003