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

1. 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

Code Smell 33 - Abbreviations

Maxi Contieri ・ Nov 24 '20

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More Info

• What exactly is a name? — Part I: The Quest

• What exactly is a name? — Part II: Rehab

• Long and Short of Naming

Credits

Photo by Emre Karataş on Unsplash

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This article is part of the CodeSmell Series.

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