6.8.6

Local Variable and Parameter Names

NAMES

interface ProcessStates {

int PS_RUNNING = 0;

int PS_SUSPENDED = 1;

}

Hiding involving constant names is rare:

Constant names should be longer than three letters, so that they do not hide

the initial component of a unique package name.

Constant names normally have no lowercase letters, so they will not normally

hide names of packages, types, or fields, whose names normally contain at

least one lowercase letter.

Constant names cannot hide method names, because they are distinguished

syntactically.

6.8.6   Local Variable and Parameter Names

Local variable and parameter names should be short, yet meaningful. They are

often short sequences of lowercase letters that are not words. For example:

Acronyms, that is the first letter of a series of words, as in

cp

 for a variable

holding a reference to a

ColoredPoint

Abbreviations, as in

buf

 holding a pointer to a

buffer

 of some kind

Mnemonic terms, organized in some way to aid memory and understanding,

typically by using a set of local variables with conventional names patterned

after the names of parameters to widely used classes. For example:

N

in

 and

out

, whenever some kind of input and output are involved, patterned

after the fields of

java.lang.System

N

off

 and

len

, whenever an offset and length are involved, patterned after the

parameters to the

read

 and

write

 methods of the interfaces

DataInput

and

DataOutput

 of

java.io

One character local variable or parameter names should be avoided, except

for temporary and looping variables, or where a variable holds an undistinguished

value of a type. Conventional one character names are:

b

 for a

byte

c

 for a

char

d

 for a

double

e

 for an

Exception

110