248
votes
Accepted
What is a term for a function that when called repeatedly, has the same effect as calling once?
This type of function / operation is called Idempotent
Idempotence (UK: /ˌɪdɛmˈpoʊtəns/,[1] US: /ˌaɪdəm-/)[2] is the property of certain operations in mathematics and computer science whereby they ...
- 1,337
189
votes
Naming issues: Should "ISomething" be renamed to "Something"?
Whilst many, including "Uncle Bob", advise not to use I as a prefix for interfaces, doing so is a well-established tradition with C#. In general terms, it should be avoided. But if you are writing C#, ...
- 38.1k
158
votes
Clean Code: long names instead of comments
Yes, you understand Clean Code right, but your examples are quite a bit over the top.
Here is what you start with:
PageReloaderForPagesDisplayingVectorGraphicsThatAreUsedInTheEditorComments
...
- 31.4k
127
votes
Accepted
Naming of bool methods: Is vs. Can vs.?
Is vs. Can
According to the Microsoft naming convention recommendations, both "Is" and "Can" are OK (and so is "Has") as a prefix for a Boolean.
In plain English, "Is" would be used to identify ...
- 24.6k
122
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between "to" and "as" method name prefixes?
A toXYZ() function is expected to do a conversion, and to return a new independent object (though immutability allows for optimization, java.lang.String.toString() just returns the object).
As an ...
- 8,137
69
votes
Accepted
How to name a method that both performs a task and returns a boolean as a status?
In .NET, you often have pairs of methods where one of them might throw an exception (DoStuff), and the other returns a Boolean status and, on successful execution, the actual result via an out ...
- 624
68
votes
Accepted
Is it enough for methods to be distinguished just by argument name (not type)?
Sure there is a good reason to name it more explicitly.
It's not primarily be the method definition that should be self-explanatory, but the method use. And while findById(string id) and find(string ...
- 102k
66
votes
Accepted
Should I always use "is" as prefix for boolean variables?
Not really, as booleans are not always used to indicate that an object "is" something.
"has" is an equally valid prefix "was", "can" are also valid in particular circumstances, also, I have seen the ...
- 17.8k
64
votes
Accepted
How to name something when the logical option is a reserved keyword?
For an enum option you should use title case like Default. Since C# is case-sensitive it will not collide with the reserved keyword. See .net Naming Guidelines.
Since all public members should be ...
- 54.6k
60
votes
Translating external data to the language you're programming in
English is a lingua franca/lowest common denominator for a reason. Even if the reason is conceptually as weak as "Everybody does it", that's still a rather important reason.
Going against common ...
- 102k
56
votes
Accepted
Should I use AND in a function name?
A function name that contains and is at the wrong level of abstraction.
I lean towards addResponseIdToDB() because otherwise the ‘side effect’ is a complete surprise. However:
responseIds = ...
- 88.3k
52
votes
Naming conventions DAL, BAL, and UI Layer
Preface
Hopefully this is obvious, but... in the suggested namespaces below, you would replace MyCompany and MyProject with the actual names of your company and project.
DTOs
I would recommend ...
- 836
49
votes
What's the name of the antipattern opposite to "reinventing the wheel"?
Golden Hammer
The golden hammer is a tool chosen only because it is fancy. It is neither cost-effective nor efficient at performing the intended task.
source: xkcd 801
(Despite the down-votes, I stand ...
- 363
49
votes
What is a term for a function that when called repeatedly, has the same effect as calling once?
The precise term for this (as Woofas mentions) is idempotence. I wanted to add that while you could call your func1 method idempotent, you could not call it a pure function. The properties of a pure ...
- 22.3k
41
votes
Naming issues: Should "ISomething" be renamed to "Something"?
The interface is the important logical concept, hence, the interface should carry the generic name. So, I'd rather have
interface Something
class DefaultSomething : Something
class MockSomething : ...
- 1,972
39
votes
Why are module-specific prefixes widely used for function names in C modules?
Why prefixes in the first place?
The prefix for function names is a C practice that intends to avoid naming conflicts.
This is especially suitable in big projects, where different teams could easily ...
- 66.8k
38
votes
Accepted
Why is the norm of a complex number in the C++ complex library actually the square of the norm?
This is not a C++ library issue but a question of mathematical terminology. In mathematics, a norm can mean different things:
What you call norm is the Euclidian norm, which is the distance to the ...
- 66.8k
37
votes
Accepted
Is it a bad practice to give two very different files with the same general purpose the same name?
Consider the cost/benefit ratio of your two options:
Would reusing the same name cause confusion or naming conflicts? Probably not, since they're in different folders. The name "player_stats/...
- 9,116
37
votes
In a fluent interface with "with", is cloning expected?
Looking at this code I’d have no idea. Semantically you did say it’s another pizza. But since this is of type Pizza and not a PizzaBuilder that gives you a pizza object only after you call the build ...
- 88.3k
35
votes
Is it enough for methods to be distinguished just by argument name (not type)?
Advantages of FindById().
Future-proofing: If you start with Find(int), and later have to add other methods (FindByName(string), FindByLegacyId(int), FindByCustomerId(int), FindByOrderId(int), etc), ...
- 3,678
34
votes
Accepted
Translating external data to the language you're programming in
In this scenario, I would leave the enum values in Dutch:
public enum Department { BOUW, ONDERHOUD }
Because the logic using these constants will be matching against data that is also in Dutch. For ...
- 731
34
votes
What's the name of the antipattern opposite to "reinventing the wheel"?
Robert Martin uses the term "Framework Bound" to refer to the most obvious negative consequence of this anti-pattern. As I don't think there's any common name for the pattern itself, a reference to ...
- 17.3k
33
votes
C# namespace and class naming convention for libraries
There is a nice document that contains a lot of rules that you should follow to be in line with Microsoft: Framework Design Guidelines.
One thing that you should change: Do not name classes as their ...
- 6,845
28
votes
Naming issues: Should "ISomething" be renamed to "Something"?
This isn't just about naming conventions. C# doesn't support multiple inheritance so this legacy use of Hungarian notation has a small albeit useful benefit where you're inheriting from a base class ...
- 9,607
28
votes
Clean Code: long names instead of comments
No, Uncle Bob is not saying that.
There is no part in his book saying that you have to put ALL COMMENTS in the class name, "the whole information" that you mentioned.
Probably you don't need a ...
- 397
27
votes
Should one always know what an API is doing just by looking at the code?
Your desire not to split it out into three method calls is completely understandable, but you do have other options besides boolean parameters.
You could use enums:
falconPeer.SetVisibility(...
- 371
27
votes
In a fluent interface with "with", is cloning expected?
No, the naming prefix with does not tell if it's cloning or mutating. There are popular examples of fluent interfaces using a mutating with and some language-specific conventions (e.g. Java) that ...
- 66.8k
26
votes
Why do we use non-descriptive internal codenames?
We don't reference people by their characteristics as it takes all day to list them in enough detail to be unambiguous and the characteristics can change. What if they get a haircut? Instead we give ...
- 1,802
25
votes
Why is the norm of a complex number in the C++ complex library actually the square of the norm?
Christophe's post, whilst fully correct, does not actually answer the question why the terms look like they do.
To give you definite answer for the reasons, you would have to ask someone from the C++...
- 184k
25
votes
What form of verb to use (imperative verb or third-person verb) in programming?
var val = obj.GetValue();
var val = obj.PlayOnAwake; // From Unity
It's not first-person, it's imperative. Simply put, it's a command.
GetValue() Get the value!
PlaySound() Play this sound!
...
- 37.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible