Using a final class for string constants

Question

I want to use something like Setting.RES_WIDTH in my code without the need for a getter function (i.e.: custom getter, enum's .name(), .toString() or .valueOf()).

Someone suggested using a final class, so I wrote this:

public final class Setting {

    public final static String RES_WIDTH        = "resolution_width";
    public final static String RES_HEIGHT       = "resolution_height";
    public final static String FULLSCREEN       = "fullscreen_enabled";
    public final static String VSYNC            = "vsync_enabled";

    //Prevent someone from creating an instance of this class
    private Setting() {}
}

This code works, but I am wondering if there are any kind of issues (performance, GC, etc) that might arise from using this.

Answer 1

There won't be any GC overhead since there won't be any instantiated instances to collect.

I think there's a small overhead by accessing a class' static field rather than an in-scope variable ; however, I would consider it largely worth the improved readability/maintainability.

I guess you could also argue you'll use up a little bit more of your permGen / Meta space, but I've never heard it be a consequent problem.