In previous posts, I’ve talked about the importance of naming to make it easier for whoever maintains the code. One thing I’ve left out is the importance of not misusing standard names. Naming Fail In a previous position, I was manipulating a collection of data, when I hit a bug. After running some new code,… Read More »
Back in September, Mark Dominus wrote a commentary describing his take on Design Patterns. Although I am impressed with a lot of what MJD has written in the past, I wasn’t sure what to make of this one. Ralph Johnson of Design Patterns fame responded and MJD wrote again. I encourage you to read all… Read More »
One of the things Java programmers seem to really like to hate in C++ is the concept of operator overloading. I have heard this from many Java programmers and seen it written by others. According to many, operator overloading makes C++ impossible to understand because you can’t tell what a piece of code is doing… Read More »
I want to preface this article with the comment that I really enjoy reading Joel on Software. I find his essays to be knowledgeable, well-thought-out, and well presented. While I don’t always agree with his conclusions, I always feel that any of his articles is worth a read. So, recently I ran across Joel on… Read More »
The subject of naming in code continues. In O’Reilly Network: Ill-monikered Variables and Creative Class Naming [May. 18, 2004], Tim O’Brien adds his comments to the topic of naming in programs. He picks up with Andy Lester’s earlier comments and goes a little further. O’Brien makes the suggestion that creative names are much better than… Read More »
And just to prove that some ideas appear in many places all at once, Andy Lester explores naming again in O’Reilly Network: The world’s two worst variable names [Mar. 07, 2004]. Apparently, Lester is reviewing the second edition of Code Complete, one of my favorite books on programming, and says there is an entire chapter… Read More »
Isn’t it interesting how some ideas will surface in different unrelated places at close to the same time. O’Reilly Network: On the importance of names [Feb. 15, 2004] talks about how important the right name is for the success of a project. I think it may be more important not only for recognition but to… Read More »
In some legends and in fantasy, there is the concept of a True Name. Once you know someone’s true name, you have power over them. To guard against problems with this most people would commonly use a use name that everyone actually uses to refer to them to keep their true name safe. In programming,… Read More »