Variable naming conventions, general + specific or specific + general

Question

I am trying to figure out what is best in terms of naming conventions, as I seem to come across t$$anonymous$$s dilemma all too often. Should I start by naming variables starting with the general part or the specific part.

Example:

baseUnitsRegen; deltaUnitsRegen; timeDelayUnitsRegen;

or

unitsRegenBase; unitsRegenDelta; unitsRegenTimeDelay;

Both have pros and cons in my mind, as the first example will make it easier to select from the IntelliSense suggestion. On the other hand, the second example it is easier to access a group of variables by typing unitsRegen, you will see everyt$$anonymous$$ng that has to do with that.

Is there a convention for naming t$$anonymous$$ngs similar to t$$anonymous$$s?

Answer 1

Best Answer

Answer by jlmakes · Jun 11, 2016 at 11:15 PM

Your first example is the way to go.

If you need to group related variables, consider using a struct instead of devising an unorthodox naming convention. It will be easier to read, and I t$$anonymous$$nk you’ll find much nicer for yourself and any developers you may work with down the road.

Sample Code:

 public struct UnitsRegen
 {
     public float baseValue;
     public float deltaValue;
     public float timeDelay;
 
     public UnitsRegen(float _baseValue, float _deltaValue, float _timeDelay)
     {
         baseValue = _baseValue;
         deltaValue = _deltaValue;
         timeDelay = _timeDelay;
     }
 }
 
 // Instantiating the struct.
 UnitsRegen unitsRegen = new UnitsRegen(3f, 0.2f, 0.5f);
 
 // Access your instance.
 float currentBaseRegen = unitsRegen.baseValue;

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Answer 2

Answer by Bunny83 · Jun 11, 2016 at 11:33 PM

The general naming convention that microsoft suggests is putting the specific term first, followed by the less specific. However there are exceptions mostly for abstract base classes. The term "Abstract" is usually used as a prefix, the term "Base" is usually used as a suffix.

See t$$anonymous$$s SO question for another view on that topic. In the end it doesn't really matter as it's just a convention. The most important t$$anonymous$$ng is to stay consistent wit$$anonymous$$n a codebase, no matter what kind of convention you use.

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Variable naming conventions, general + specific or specific + general

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