>> - boolean debug = false;
>> + final boolean debug = false;
>
> There doesn't seem to be any actual use of debug, why not just remove it?
I agree. Plus there is no way to debug the code without actually
recompiling code
with this variable set to true.
A better way to do this is: private final boolean debug =
Boolean.getBoolean("debug");
Unfortunately, we have this pattern in code at several places ...