Code Smell 153 - Too Long Names
Names should be long and descriptive. How Long?
TL;DR: Names should be long enough. No longer.
Problems
Readability
Cognitive Load
Solutions
- Use names related to the MAPPER
Context
We used very short names during the 50s and 60s due to space and time constraints.
This is no longer the case in modern languages.
Sometimes we get too excited.
Naming is an art and we should be cautious with it.
Sample Code
Wrong
PlanetarySystem.PlanetarySystemCentralStarCatalogEntry
// Redundant
Right
PlanetarySystem.CentralStarCatalogEntry
Detection
[X] Semi-Automatic
Our linters can warn us with too long names.
Tags
Bloaters
Naming
Conclusion
There are no hard rules on name length.
Just Heuristics.
Relations
More Info
Credits
Photo by Emre Karataş on Unsplash
Many people tend to look at programming styles and languages like religions: if you belong to one, you cannot belong to others. But this analogy is another fallacy.
Niklaus Wirth
This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.
About the author
I’m a senior software engineer loving clean code, and declarative designs. S.O.L.I.D. and agile methodologies fan.
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Code Smells
In this series, we will see several symptoms and situations that make us doubt the quality of our developments. We will present possible solutions. Most are just clues. They are no hard rules.
