diff --git a/pmd-cs/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cpd/CsTokenizer.java b/pmd-cs/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cpd/CsTokenizer.java
index 6ed2b7d4f7..1bdb536163 100644
--- a/pmd-cs/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cpd/CsTokenizer.java
+++ b/pmd-cs/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cpd/CsTokenizer.java
@@ -21,7 +21,8 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
         BufferedReader reader = new BufferedReader(new CharArrayReader(sourceCode.getCodeBuffer().toString()
                 .toCharArray()));
         try {
-            int ic = reader.read(), line = 1;
+            int ic = reader.read();
+            int line = 1;
             char c;
             StringBuilder b;
             while (ic != -1) {
@@ -50,16 +51,16 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
                 case '>':
                     ic = reader.read();
                     if (ic == '=') {
-                        tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(String.valueOf(c) + "=", sourceCode.getFileName(), line));
+                        tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(c + "=", sourceCode.getFileName(), line));
                         ic = reader.read();
                     } else if (ic == c) {
                         ic = reader.read();
                         if (ic == '=') {
-                            tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(String.valueOf(c) + String.valueOf(c) + "=", sourceCode
+                            tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry("" + c + c + "=", sourceCode
                                     .getFileName(), line));
                             ic = reader.read();
                         } else {
-                            tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(String.valueOf(c) + String.valueOf(c), sourceCode
+                            tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry("" + c + c, sourceCode
                                     .getFileName(), line));
                         }
                     } else {
@@ -75,7 +76,7 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
                 case '-':
                     ic = reader.read();
                     if (ic == '=' || ic == c) {
-                        tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(String.valueOf(c) + String.valueOf((char) ic), sourceCode
+                        tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry("" + c + ((char) ic), sourceCode
                                 .getFileName(), line));
                         ic = reader.read();
                     } else {
@@ -91,7 +92,7 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
                 case '~':
                     ic = reader.read();
                     if (ic == '=') {
-                        tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(String.valueOf(c) + "=", sourceCode.getFileName(), line));
+                        tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(c + "=", sourceCode.getFileName(), line));
                         ic = reader.read();
                     } else {
                         tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(String.valueOf(c), sourceCode.getFileName(), line));
@@ -104,17 +105,20 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
                     b = new StringBuilder();
                     b.append(c);
                     while ((ic = reader.read()) != c) {
-                        if (ic == -1)
+                        if (ic == -1) {
                             break;
+                        }
                         b.append((char) ic);
                         if (ic == '\\') {
                             int next = reader.read();
-                            if (next != -1)
+                            if (next != -1) {
                                 b.append((char) next);
+                            }
                         }
                     }
-                    if (ic != -1)
+                    if (ic != -1) {
                         b.append((char) ic);
+                    }
                     tokenEntries.add(new TokenEntry(b.toString(), sourceCode.getFileName(), line));
                     ic = reader.read();
                     break;
@@ -132,8 +136,9 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
                             b.append(c);
 
                             if (state == 1) {
-                                if (c == '*')
+                                if (c == '*') {
                                     state = 2;
+                                }
                             } else {
                                 if (c == '/') {
                                     ic = reader.read();
@@ -152,8 +157,9 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
                         b = new StringBuilder();
                         b.append("//");
                         while ((ic = reader.read()) != '\n') {
-                            if (ic == -1)
+                            if (ic == -1) {
                                 break;
+                            }
                             b.append((char) ic);
                         }
                         // ignore the // comment
@@ -189,8 +195,9 @@ public class CsTokenizer implements Tokenizer {
                             b.append(c);
                             if (c == 'e' || c == 'E') {
                                 c = (char) (ic = reader.read());
-                                if ("1234567890-".indexOf(c) == -1)
+                                if ("1234567890-".indexOf(c) == -1) {
                                     break;
+                                }
                                 b.append(c);
                             }
                             c = (char) (ic = reader.read());
diff --git a/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/DumpFacade.java b/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/DumpFacade.java
index 7b8a30537e..6755a79ab4 100644
--- a/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/DumpFacade.java
+++ b/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/DumpFacade.java
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ public class DumpFacade {
 	private boolean recurse;
 
 	public void initializeWith(Writer writer, String prefix, boolean recurse, EcmascriptNode<?> node) {
-		this.writer = (writer instanceof PrintWriter) ? (PrintWriter) writer : new PrintWriter(writer);
+		this.writer = writer instanceof PrintWriter ? (PrintWriter) writer : new PrintWriter(writer);
 		this.recurse = recurse;
 		this.dump(node, prefix);
 		try {
diff --git a/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptTreeBuilder.java b/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptTreeBuilder.java
index 5edbc1b50a..b8cff9175f 100644
--- a/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptTreeBuilder.java
+++ b/pmd-javascript/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/ecmascript/ast/EcmascriptTreeBuilder.java
@@ -132,14 +132,14 @@ public final class EcmascriptTreeBuilder implements NodeVisitor {
 	}
     }
 
-    protected List<ParseProblem> parseProblems;
-    protected Map<ParseProblem, TrailingCommaNode> parseProblemToNode = new HashMap<ParseProblem, TrailingCommaNode>();
+    private List<ParseProblem> parseProblems;
+    private Map<ParseProblem, TrailingCommaNode> parseProblemToNode = new HashMap<ParseProblem, TrailingCommaNode>();
 
     // The nodes having children built.
-    protected Stack<Node> nodes = new Stack<Node>();
+    private Stack<Node> nodes = new Stack<Node>();
 
     // The Rhino nodes with children to build.
-    protected Stack<AstNode> parents = new Stack<AstNode>();
+    private Stack<AstNode> parents = new Stack<AstNode>();
 
     private final SourceCodePositioner sourceCodePositioner;
 
diff --git a/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/DumpFacade.java b/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/DumpFacade.java
index 556d3a8872..743412c488 100644
--- a/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/DumpFacade.java
+++ b/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/DumpFacade.java
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ public class DumpFacade extends JspParserVisitorAdapter {
 	private boolean recurse;
 
 	public void initializeWith(Writer writer, String prefix, boolean recurse, JspNode node) {
-		this.writer = (writer instanceof PrintWriter) ? (PrintWriter) writer : new PrintWriter(writer);
+		this.writer = writer instanceof PrintWriter ? (PrintWriter) writer : new PrintWriter(writer);
 		this.recurse = recurse;
 		this.visit(node, prefix);
 		try {
diff --git a/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/OpenTagRegister.java b/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/OpenTagRegister.java
index 0a293dc579..a9f79f99ae 100644
--- a/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/OpenTagRegister.java
+++ b/pmd-jsp/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/jsp/ast/OpenTagRegister.java
@@ -23,9 +23,10 @@ public class OpenTagRegister {
 	private List<ASTElement> tagList = new ArrayList<ASTElement>();
 
 	public void openTag(ASTElement elm) {
-		if (elm == null || StringUtil.isEmpty(elm.getName()))
+		if (elm == null || StringUtil.isEmpty(elm.getName())) {
 			throw new IllegalStateException(
 					"Tried to open a tag with empty name");
+		}
 
 		tagList.add(elm);
 	}
@@ -37,9 +38,10 @@ public class OpenTagRegister {
 	 * was ever opened ( or registered )
 	 */
 	public boolean closeTag(String closingTagName) {
-		if (StringUtil.isEmpty(closingTagName))
+		if (StringUtil.isEmpty(closingTagName)) {
 			throw new IllegalStateException(
 					"Tried to close a tag with empty name");
+		}
 
 		int lastRegisteredTagIdx = tagList.size() - 1;
 		/*
diff --git a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/AbstractRuleSetFactoryTest.java b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/AbstractRuleSetFactoryTest.java
index 8abbbea5a2..2cdcccfdc4 100644
--- a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/AbstractRuleSetFactoryTest.java
+++ b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/AbstractRuleSetFactoryTest.java
@@ -459,12 +459,8 @@ public abstract class AbstractRuleSetFactoryTest {
                     .getPropertyDescriptors();
             List<PropertyDescriptor<?>> propertyDescriptors2 = rule2
                     .getPropertyDescriptors();
-            try {
-                assertEquals(message + ", Rule property descriptor ",
-                        propertyDescriptors1, propertyDescriptors2);
-            } catch (Error e) {
-                throw e;
-            }
+            assertEquals(message + ", Rule property descriptor ",
+                    propertyDescriptors1, propertyDescriptors2);
             for (int j = 0; j < propertyDescriptors1.size(); j++) {
                 assertEquals(message + ", Rule property value " + j, rule1
                         .getProperty(propertyDescriptors1.get(j)), rule2
diff --git a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/ant/AbstractAntTestHelper.java b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/ant/AbstractAntTestHelper.java
index a77a410077..2b9f31e30a 100644
--- a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/ant/AbstractAntTestHelper.java
+++ b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/ant/AbstractAntTestHelper.java
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@ public abstract class AbstractAntTestHelper extends BuildFileTest {
 	private void validatePostConstruct() {
 		if ( pathToTestScript == null || "".equals(pathToTestScript) ||
 			 antTestScriptFilename == null || "".equals(antTestScriptFilename) ||
-			 mvnWorkaround == null || "".equals(mvnWorkaround) )
+			 mvnWorkaround == null || "".equals(mvnWorkaround) ) {
 			throw new IllegalStateException("Unit tests for Ant script badly initialized");
-
+		}
 	}
 }
diff --git a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cli/BaseCLITest.java b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cli/BaseCLITest.java
index d32c06db1f..cbba244282 100644
--- a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cli/BaseCLITest.java
+++ b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/cli/BaseCLITest.java
@@ -84,8 +84,9 @@ public abstract class BaseCLITest {
 
     protected void checkStatusCode() {
         int statusCode = getStatusCode();
-        if (statusCode > 0)
+        if (statusCode > 0) {
             fail("PMD failed with status code:" + statusCode);
+        }
     }
 
     protected int getStatusCode() {
diff --git a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/RuleTst.java b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/RuleTst.java
index d5bb9acea6..8827c02ed3 100644
--- a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/RuleTst.java
+++ b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/RuleTst.java
@@ -84,12 +84,12 @@ public abstract class RuleTst {
                 if (test.getProperties() != null) {
                     for (Map.Entry<Object, Object> entry : test.getProperties().entrySet()) {
                 	String propertyName = (String)entry.getKey();
-                	String strValue = (String)entry.getValue();
                 	PropertyDescriptor propertyDescriptor = rule.getPropertyDescriptor(propertyName);
                 	if (propertyDescriptor == null) {
                             throw new IllegalArgumentException("No such property '" + propertyName + "' on Rule " + rule.getName());
                 	}
-                	Object value = propertyDescriptor.valueFrom(strValue);
+
+                	Object value = propertyDescriptor.valueFrom((String)entry.getValue());
                 	rule.setProperty(propertyDescriptor, value);
                     }
                 }
@@ -314,7 +314,6 @@ public abstract class RuleTst {
                 String propertyName = ruleProperty.getAttributes().getNamedItem("name").getNodeValue();
                 properties.setProperty(propertyName, parseTextNode(ruleProperty));
             }
-            int expectedProblems = Integer.parseInt(getNodeValue(testCode, "expected-problems", true));
 
             NodeList expectedMessagesNodes = testCode.getElementsByTagName("expected-messages");
             List<String> messages = new ArrayList<String>();
@@ -336,7 +335,6 @@ public abstract class RuleTst {
                 }
             }
 
-            String description = getNodeValue(testCode, "description", true);
             String code = getNodeValue(testCode, "code", false);
             if (code == null) {
                 //Should have a coderef
@@ -359,6 +357,9 @@ public abstract class RuleTst {
                 }
             }
 
+            String description = getNodeValue(testCode, "description", true);
+            int expectedProblems = Integer.parseInt(getNodeValue(testCode, "expected-problems", true));
+
             String languageVersionString = getNodeValue(testCode, "source-type", false);
             if (languageVersionString == null) {
                 tests[i] = new TestDescriptor(code, description, expectedProblems, rule);
diff --git a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/StreamUtil.java b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/StreamUtil.java
index aaa85d75c9..bd05960dcd 100644
--- a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/StreamUtil.java
+++ b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/StreamUtil.java
@@ -9,13 +9,13 @@ import java.io.InputStream;
 import org.apache.commons.io.IOUtils;
 
 
-public class StreamUtil {
+public final class StreamUtil {
+
+    private StreamUtil() {
+        // utility class
+    }
 
 	public static String toString(InputStream in) {
-		if (in == null) {
-			throw new NullPointerException("no input stream given");
-		}
-
 		StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
 		int c;
 		try {
diff --git a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/TestDescriptor.java b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/TestDescriptor.java
index 4225b27f43..83a91b5152 100644
--- a/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/TestDescriptor.java
+++ b/pmd-test/src/main/java/net/sourceforge/pmd/testframework/TestDescriptor.java
@@ -123,7 +123,6 @@ public class TestDescriptor {
 		inRegressionMode = Boolean.parseBoolean(property);
 	    }
 	} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
-	} catch (NullPointerException e) {
 	}
 	
         return inRegressionMode;