Order of initialization in java

With so many ways of initializing data fields, it can be quite confusing to give all possible pathways for the construction process. Here is what happens in detail when a constructor is called.

1. All data fields are initialized to their default value (0, false, or null).
2. All field initializers and initialization blocks are executed, in the order in which they occur in the class declaration.
3. If the first line of the constructor calls a second constructor, then the body of the second constructor is executed.
4. The body of the constructor is executed.
   

Naturally, it is always a good idea to organize your initialization code so that another programmer could easily understand it without having to be a language lawyer. For example, it would be quite strange and somewhat error prone to have a class whose constructors depend on the order in which the data fields are declared.