The ordering of import statements is:
- Android imports
- Imports from third parties (
com,junit,net,org) javaandjavax
To exactly match the IDE settings, the imports should be:
- Alphabetical within each grouping, with capital letters before lower case letters (e.g. Z before a).
- There should be a blank line between each major grouping (
android,com,junit,net,org,java,javax).
Originally there was no style requirement on the ordering. This meant that the IDE’s were either always changing the ordering, or IDE developers had to disable the automatic import management features and maintain the imports by hand. This was deemed bad. When java-style was asked, the preferred styles were all over the map. It pretty much came down to our needing to “pick an ordering and be consistent.” So we chose a style, updated the style guide, and made the IDEs obey it. We expect that as IDE users work on the code, the imports in all of the packages will end up matching this pattern without any extra engineering effort.
This style was chosen such that:
- The imports people want to look at first tend to be at the top (
android) - The imports people want to look at least tend to be at the bottom (
java) - Humans can easily follow the style
- IDEs can follow the style
The use and location of static imports have been mildly controversial issues. Some people would prefer static imports to be interspersed with the remaining imports, some would prefer them reside above or below all other imports. Additinally, we have not yet come up with a way to make all IDEs use the same ordering.
Since most people consider this a low priority issue, just use your judgement and please be consistent.