Best Practices for Variable and Method Naming
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Best Practices for Variable and Method Naming
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- Use short enough and long enough variable names in each scope of code. Generally length may be 1 char for loop counters, 1 word for condition/loop variables, 1-2 words for methods, 2-3 words for classes, 3-4 words for globals.
- Use specific names for variables, for example "value", "equals", "data", ... are not valid names for any case.
- Use meaningful names for variables. Variable name must define the exact explanation of its content.
- Don't start variables with o_, obj_, m_ etc. A variable does not need tags which states it is a variable.
- Obey company naming standards and write variable names consistently in application: e.g. txtUserName, lblUserName, cmbSchoolType, ... Otherwise readability will reduce and find/replace tools will be unusable.
- Obey programming language standards and don't use lowercase/uppercase characters inconsistently: e.g. userName, UserName, USER_NAME, m_userName, username, ...
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- use Camel Case (aka Upper Camel Case) for classes: VelocityResponseWriter
- use Lower Case for packages: com.company.project.ui
- use Mixed Case (aka Lower Camel Case) for variables: studentName
- use Upper Case for constants : MAX_PARAMETER_COUNT = 100
- use Camel Case for enum class names and Upper Case for enum values.
- don't use '_' anywhere except constants and enum values (which are constants).
- For example for Java,
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- Don't reuse same variable name in the same class in different contexts: e.g. in method, constructor, class. So you can provide more simplicity for understandability and maintainability.
- Don't use same variable for different purposes in a method, conditional etc. Create a new and different named variable instead. This is also important for maintainability and readability.
- Don't use non-ASCII chars in variable names. Those may run on your platform but may not on others.
- Don't use too long variable names (e.g. 50 chars). Long names will bring ugly and hard-to-read code, also may not run on some compilers because of character limit.
- Decide and use one natural language for naming, e.g. using mixed English and German names will be inconsistent and unreadable.
- Use meaningful names for methods. The name must specify the exact action of the method and for most cases must start with a verb. (e.g. createPasswordHash)
- Obey company naming standards and write method names consistently in application: e.g. getTxtUserName(), getLblUserName(), isStudentApproved(), ... Otherwise readability will reduce and find/replace tools will be unusable.
- Obey programming language standards and don't use lowercase/uppercase characters inconsistently: e.g. getUserName, GetUserName, getusername, ...
- For example for Java,
- use Mixed Case for method names: getStudentSchoolType
- use Mixed Case for method parameters: setSchoolName(String schoolName)
- For example for Java,
- Use meaningful names for method parameters, so it can documentate itself in case of no documentation.
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