CSC/ECE 517 Summer 2008/wiki2 2 rapodraz
Variable Naming in Programming
Almost all programming languages allow the programmer a great deal of freedom when naming variables in a program's source code. It may seem like this is an obvious advantage, as it gives the programmer a great deal of flexibility. However, this level of freedom may incorrectly reflect the notion that variable naming is unimportant. Since variable identifiers can be named in many different ways, they often are, and the result is a high degree of inconsistency that can be problematic for code readability and maintenance.
Naming Conventions
In most contexts, the term "naming conventions" refers to a set of rules used to name variables that provide information about the variable. Naming conventions are a form of [1]. A good set of naming conventions can be very useful and is often part of good programming practice. Naming conventions may differ among programming languages and projects, but the purpose is the same: to provide information about the variable in the name itself. Some examples of common naming conventions include:
-Using lowercase for a single word name -Using capitalization to separate multi-word names -Using all caps for constants -Using variable prefixes to indicate scope or type
Examples of good, well known naming conventions are | Hungarian Notation, and the | Symbian OS naming conventions.
Naming Choices
Choosing a good variable name means naming a variable in a way that will help the reader understand the program's design and purpose. This is different from naming conventions in that it can not be so strictly defined, and is concerned with individual variables as opposed to all variables.
Using Design Pattern Names
External Links
http://www.symbian.com/developer/techlib/v70sdocs/doc_source/DevGuides/EssentialIdioms/NamingConvs.guide.html http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa260976(VS.60).aspx