Premature optimization in Java: when to use “x = foo.getX()” vs simply “foo.getX()”

Question

When I find myself calling the same getter method multiple times, should this be considered a problem? Is it better to [always] assign to a local variable and call only once?

Answer 1

I use the second style if it makes my code more readable or if I have to use the assigned value again. I never consider performance (on trivial things) unless I have to.