You don't own objects.

TL;DR: don't use my as a name prefix.

Problems

• Lack of context

• Bijection Fault

Solutions

1. Remove my prefix.

2. Change to a role suggesting name.

Context

Several old tutorials use the word 'my' as a lazy name. This is vague and lead to context mistakes.

Sample Code

Wrong

MainWindow myWindow = Application.Current.MainWindow as MainWindow;

Right

MainWindow salesWindow = Application.Current.MainWindow as MainWindow;

/*

Since window is instanciated, we are currently working
with a specialized window playing a special role

*/

Detection

• [x] Automatic

We can tell our linters and static checkers to search for this prefix and warn us.

Tags

• Naming

Conclusion

Avoid using my. Objects change according to the usage context.

More Info

• https://maximilianocontieri.com/what-exactly-is-a-name-part-ii-rehab

Credits

Photo by Michał Bożek on Unsplash

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Thinking about my experience of modifying code, I see that I spend much more time reading the existing code than I do writing new code. If I want to make my code cheap, therefore, I should make it easy to read.

Kent Beck

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This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.