Section 1.3 · Foundations

Names are for readers

Code is read far more often than it is written.

four guidelines

Use human-readable names
Avoid bare abbreviations and single letters
Descriptive but concise
Agree on terms across the team

the same three lines, twice

hard to read

let a = "John";

let b = 90;

let c = a + " scored " + b;

explains itself

let studentName = "John";

let examScore = 90;

let result = studentName + …

John scored 90% — identical output. Only the reading changed.

one variable, several jobs

books

"hello"

true

A box labelled books, used to store shoes, then dishes, then toys — with the label never changed. By the third line, nobody knows what is inside.

one variable, one purpose

answer

a number

greeting

"hello"

a string

isComplete

true

a flag

bookSHelf

Introduction to Programming Concepts and Methodologies

Names are for readers

Section 1.3 · Foundations