Everyday Java Features You’re Probably Overcomplicating

Underused Java Features That Can Clean Up Your Code

Photo by Emile Perron on Unsplash

Most Java developers know about features like Optional, var, and try-with-resources. But what about the ones hiding in plain sight , features that simplify your code but often go unused or misused?

This article is mainly aimed at beginner to intermediate developers who want to write cleaner, smarter Java. If you’re an experienced dev, you might find these obvious.

So we’ll explore some Java features you’re probably overcomplicating, and show you how to use them the right way. These aren’t theoretical, they’re practical tricks that can make your code better.

1. Labelled Breaks -Escape Deep Loops Gracefully

The Overcomplication: Dev tries to break out of nested loops using extra flags or breaks:

boolean found = false;
for (String line : lines) {
    for (char c : line.toCharArray()) {
        if (c == '#') {
            found = true;
            break;
        }
    }
    if (found) break;
}

Instead, do this:

outer:
for (String line : lines) {
    for (char c : line.toCharArray()) {
        if (c == '#') break outer;
    }
}