This is a fork of https://github.com/kettanaito/naming-cheatsheet

Opinionated naming cheatsheet

• English language
• Naming convention
• Short, Intuitive and Descriptive
• Avoid contractions
• Avoid context duplication
• Be consistent
• Naming functions
  • A/HC/LC/A pattern
    • Actions
    • Context
    • Prefixes
• Singular and Plurals

---

Naming things is hard. This sheet attempts to make it easier.

Although these suggestions can be applied to any programming language (except those that directly go against these conventions, like Python), I will use JavaScript and React to illustrate them in practice.

English language

Use English language when naming your variables and functions.

/* Bad */
const primerNombre = 'Gustavo'
const amigos = ['Kate', 'John']

/* Good */
const firstName = 'Gustavo'
const friends = ['Kate', 'John']

Like it or not, English is the dominant language in programming: the syntax of all programming languages is written in English, as well as countless documentations and educational materials. By writing your code in English you dramatically increase its cohesiveness.

Naming convention

Pick the camelCase naming convention, follow it and remain consistent. If you need to start classes with uppercase, pick PascalCase for those.

/* Bad */
const page_count = 5
const shouldUpdate = true
const HasPagination = true

/* Good */
const pageCount = 5
const shouldUpdate = true
const hasPagination = true

Short, Intuitive and Descriptive

A name must be short, intuitive and descriptive:

• Short. A name must not take long to type and, therefore, remember;
• Intuitive. A name must read naturally, as close to the common speech as possible;
• Descriptive. A name must reflect what it does/possesses in the most efficient way.

/* Bad */
const a = 5 // "a" could mean anything
const isPaginatable = a > 10 // "Paginatable" sounds extremely unnatural
const shouldPaginatize = a > 10 // Made up verbs are so much fun!

/* Good */
const postCount = 5
const hasPagination = postCount > 10
const shouldPaginate = postCount > 10 // alternatively

Avoid contractions

Do not use contractions, except for the established ones: min, max and prev. They contribute to nothing but decreased readability of the code. Finding a short, descriptive name may be hard, but contraction is not an excuse for not doing so.

/* Bad */
const onItmClk = () => {}

/* Good */
const onItemClick = () => {}

Avoid context duplication

A name should not duplicate the context in which it is defined. Always remove the context from a name if that doesn't decrease its readability.

class MenuItem {
	/* Method name duplicates the context (which is "MenuItem") */
	handleMenuItemClick = (event) => { ... }

	/* Reads nicely as `MenuItem.handleClick()` */
	handleClick = (event) => { ... }
}

Be consistent

Names should be consistent and reflect the expected result.

/* Bad */
const isEnabled = itemCount > 3
return <Button disabled={!isEnabled} />

/* Good */
const isEnabled = itemCount > 3
return <Button enabled={isEnabled} />

/* Also good */
const isDisabled = itemCount <= 3
return <Button disabled={isDisabled} />

---

Naming functions

A/HC/LC/A Pattern

There is a useful pattern to follow when naming functions:

action (A) + high context (HC) + low context? (LC) + action (A)

Take a look at how this pattern may be applied in the table below.

Name	Action (A)	High context (HC)	Low context (LC)	Action (A)
getUser	get	User
getUserMessages	get	User	Messages
handleClickOutside	handle	Click	Outside
updateUser	update	User
userUpdate		user		Update

Note: The action order affects what a variable means. For example, updateUser tells you this function lives outside of User and is responsible for updating a User (maybe even change it completely), while userUpdate tells you this function lives inside of User and is responsible for updating this particular User.

---

Actions

The verb part of your function name. The most important part responsible for describing what the function does.

get

Accesses data immediately (i.e. shorthand getter of internal data).

function getFruitCount() {
	return this.fruits.length
}

See also compose.

set

Sets a variable in a declarative way, with value A to value B.

let fruits = 0

function setFruits(nextFruits) {
	fruits = nextFruits
}

setFruits(5)
console.log(fruits) // 5

reset

Sets a variable back to its initial value or state.

const initialFruits = 5
let fruits = initialFruits
setFruits(10)
console.log(fruits) // 10

function resetFruits() {
  fruits = initialFruits
}

resetFruits()
console.log(fruits) // 5

fetch

Request for some data, which takes some indeterminate time (i.e. async request).

function fetchPosts(postCount) {
  return fetch('https://api.dev/posts', {...})
}

remove

Removes something from somewhere.

For example, if you have a collection of selected filters on a search page, removing one of them from the collection is removeFilter, not deleteFilter (and this is how you would naturally say it in English as well):

function removeFilter(filterName, filters) {
  return filters.filter((name) => name !== filterName)
}

const selectedFilters = ['price', 'availability', 'size']
removeFilter('price', selectedFilters) // ['availability', 'size']

See also delete.

delete

Completely erases something from the realms of existence.

Imagine you are a content editor, and there is that notorious post you wish to get rid of. Once you clicked a shiny "Delete post" button, the CMS performed a deletePost action, not removePost.

function deletePost(id) {
  return database.find({ id }).delete()
}

See also remove.

compose

Creates new data from the existing one. Mostly applicable to strings, objects, or functions.

function composePageUrl(pageName, pageId) {
  return (pageName.toLowerCase() + '-' + pageId)
}

See also get.

handle

Handles an action. Often used when naming a callback method.

function handleLinkClick() {
  console.log('Clicked a link!')
}

link.addEventListener('click', handleLinkClick)

---

Context

A domain that a function operates on.

A function is often an action on something. It is important to state what its operable domain is, or at least an expected data type.

/* A pure function operating with primitives */
function filter(list, predicate) {
  return list.filter(predicate)
}

/* Function operating exactly on posts */
function getRecentPosts(posts) {
  return filter(posts, (post) => post.date === Date.now())
}

Some language-specific assumptions may allow omitting the context. For example, in JavaScript, it's common that filter operates on Array. Adding explicit filterArray would be unnecessary.

--

Prefixes

Prefix enhances the meaning of a variable. It is rarely used in function names.

is

Describes a characteristic or state of the current context (usually boolean).

const color = 'blue'
const isBlue = color === 'blue' // characteristic
const isPresent = true // state

if (isBlue && isPresent) {
  console.log('Blue is present!')
}

has

Describes whether the current context possesses a certain value or state (usually boolean).

/* Bad */
const isProductsExist = productsCount > 0
const areProductsPresent = productsCount > 0

/* Good */
const hasProducts = productsCount > 0

should

Reflects a positive conditional statement (usually boolean) coupled with a certain action.

function shouldUpdateUrl(url, expectedUrl) {
  return url !== expectedUrl
}

min/max

Represents a minimum or maximum value. Used when describing boundaries or limits.

/**
 * Renders a random amount of posts within
 * the given min/max boundaries.
 */
function renderPosts(posts, minPosts, maxPosts) {
  return posts.slice(0, randomBetween(minPosts, maxPosts))
}

prev/next

Indicate the previous or the next state of a variable in the current context. Used when describing state transitions.

function fetchPosts() {
  const prevPosts = this.state.posts

  const fetchedPosts = fetch('...')
  const nextPosts = concat(prevPosts, fetchedPosts)

  this.setState({ posts: nextPosts })
}

Singular and Plurals

Like a prefix, variable names can be made singular or plural depending on whether they hold a single value or multiple values.

/* Bad */
const friends = 'Bob'
const friend = ['Bob', 'Tony', 'Tanya']

/* Good */
const friend = 'Bob'
const friends = ['Bob', 'Tony', 'Tanya']