There are number of performance tips made obsolete by Java compiler and especially Profile-guided optimization. For example, these platform-provided optimizations can drasti
I found links above outdated. Here is a new one on Java optimization: http://www.appperfect.com/support/java-coding-rules/optimization.html
The final modifier on methods and method parameters doesn't help with the performance at all.
Also, the Java HotSpot wiki gives a good overview of the optimizations used by HotSpot and how to efficiently use them in Java code.