On Thu, Jan 13, 2011 at 2:23 AM, Richard Quadling <rquadl...@gmail.com>wrote:
> The Hungarian Notation [1] was what I was taught all those years ago > when I learnt standard C programming. I learned it early on as well, and I never really liked it. Instead of $iFish I would prefer a more descriptive name such as $fishCount. Sure, it's a little longer to type, but it tells you what that number measures. In today's world of objects and loosely-typed languages, a descriptive variable name can be more important than a symbol or notation to hint at the type. As for arrays, I always name the variable plural. And if it maps keys to values instead of holding a list of items, I will typically name it $foosByBar, e.g. $customersById. From that name I *know* it's array already--no need for a prefix or special symbol. $oPlayer, $sName, $iWidth...what's the point? The context in which the variable is used can provide more meaning. If you stick to short functions/methods that do one specific thing, you'll be able to tell that $player is an object, $name is a string, and $width is an integer. I highly recommend the book Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin. [1] It has a lot of great advice on keeping your code easy to understand, test, and maintain. David [1] http://www.amazon.com/Clean-Code-Handbook-Software-Craftsmanship/dp/0132350882
