Why naming is important?Critical for Readability = Maintainability
The naming is important because it is very critical for readability and if you can't read the code, you can't properly maintain it.
Imagine a book that you don't understand, and someone comes to you and asks you to fix the typos in it.
Can you really do it, without understanding it? |
There are only two hard things in Computer Science:
cache invalidation and naming things.
- Phil Karlton Non-Idiomaticfunc Read(buffer *Buffer, inBuffer []byte) (size int, err error) {
if buffer.empty() {
buffer.Reset()
}
size = copy(
inBuffer,
buffer.buffer[buffer.offset:])
buffer.offset += size
return size, nil
}
|
This code is unnecessarily verbose. Everything has been declared in English words, which generally should be avoided. From the readability and maintainability perspective, this code is not good. Idiomaticfunc Read(b *Buffer, p []byte) (n int, err error) {
if b.empty() {
b.Reset()
}
n = copy(p, b.buf[b.off:])
b.off += n
return n, nil
}
|
This code is very concise and idiomatic and it's easy to understand and maintain. Use the first few letters of the wordsvar fv string // flag value
|
Use fewer letters in smaller scopesvar bytesRead int // number of bytes read
var n int // number of bytes read
|
Use the complete words in larger scopespackage file
var fileClosed bool
|
Imagine that this variable is declared in the package block of the file package.
It's a package level variable and therefore it's in a larger scope. Don't use abbreviations there and don't mix caps in the name. file starts with a lowercase letter. Use all caps for acronymsvar localApi string
var localAPI string
|
Do not stutterplayer.PlayerScore
player.Score
|
Do not use under_scores oR LIKE_THISconst MAX_TIME int
const MaxTime int
const N int
|
| | Abbreviation - RulesSound/Spelling Abbreviations should be pronounceable.
Abbreviations should have at least one vowel.
Abbreviations should not split up plosive/liquid combinations but as plosive/plosive, for example, the ct in dictionary or pt in caption.
Abbreviations should not have more than three consonants in a row and should usually end in a consonant, unless the vowel is needed for discrimination, for example, alg and algo.
All of the letters in the abbreviation should be present in the long form and in the same order, and need not appear in sequence in the long form, for example, recv and receive. |
Exceptions/Limitations
There are a few exceptions to the above rules for common, well-established forms.
ct and pt can be used for ction and ption if the abbreviation would be too short otherwise, for example, act and opt.
There are also other types of prefixing, for example, the three-letter prefixes used to distinguish field names in the same database table.
Examples would include cusID for customer ID and ordID for order ID.
Those prefixes don't need to follow the same rules. |
Length/Meaning and Interpretation
An abbreviation should be less than or equal to half the length of the original form.
Abbreviations should be at least three letters long.
Abbreviations should not be whole words that mean something else.
Abbreviations should not just consist of the prefix of a word, for example, sym for symbol or syl for syllable.
Abbreviations shouldn't be ambiguous. However, if the names are different that no confusion can result, they are OK. |
Abbreviationvar a int
| // array | var arg []string
| // argument | var b []byte
| // buffer | var b byte
| // byte | var bs bytes
| // bytes | var buf []byte
| // buffer | var c int
| // capacity | var c int
| // character | var dst int
| // destination | var err error
| // error value | var fv string
| // flag value | var i int
| // index | var l int
| // length | var m int
| // another number | var msg string
| // message | var n int
| // number or number of | var num int
| // number | var off int
| // offset | var op int
| // operation | var parsed bool
| // parsed ok? | var pkg string
| // package | var pos int
| // position | var r rune
| // rune | var r io.Reader
| // reader | var s string
| // string | var seen bool
| // has seen? | var sep string
| // separator | var src int
| // source | var str string
| // string | var v string
| // value | var val string
| // value | var w io.Writer
| // writer | ...the list goes on and on... |
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