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The use of underscore characters in field naming conventions



 
 
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  #11  
Old June 29th, 2005, 05:02 PM
CAD Fiend
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Brendan Reynolds wrote:

Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right don't work with underscores in the VBA editor


Really? I just went and opened my VBA editor (v6.3 ) in Access, and it worked
fine for me. Are we talking about the same editor?

either (though they do in SQL view). And for most people, the underscore is
a seldom-used (or at least 'less frequently used') character, and will slow
down typing.


Yeah, it DOES slow you down a little. But I think it's worth it, when it comes
to easier navigation over words, and being easier to read.

So there are pros and cons, for and against. As others have
said, there's really no clear-cut right or wrong here.

I'm currently reading a book on coding guidelines for .NET, and one of the
recommendations the authors make is that you shouldn't use underscores in
names of public properties or methods, but it's OK to use them in private
properties or methods. In other words, if you're the only person who will
ever have to type those names, it's just a matter of personal preference.
But if you're exposing those names to others it is better to avoid
underscores. I'm inclined to agree with that.


Hmm. Interesting point.



--
Brendan Reynolds (MVP)

"CAD Fiend" wrote in message
...
Gotcha. But one thing about camel case is that you can't use the CTRL
Left
Arrow or Right Arrow on the keyboard when all of the text is together like
that.

"Douglas J. Steele" wrote:

There's really no right answer: naming conventions are just that,
conventions. (other than no spaces: few, if any, argue that spaces are
okay!)

I personally prefer "camel case": using CapitalLetterToSeparateWords.

--
Doug Steele, Microsoft Access MVP
http://I.Am/DougSteele
(no e-mails, please!)

"CAD Fiend" wrote in message
...
Hello,

What is the proper naming convention for naming fields? Some people
will use underscores between the key words, some just use caps. I
believe that you also should not us spaces. Is that correct? What
about
for table names and such? Does the same practice apply?

TIA.

Phil.



  #12  
Old June 29th, 2005, 07:56 PM
Brendan Reynolds
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Posts: n/a
Default

I enter the following into the VBA editor (Access 2003, VBA 6.3) ...

Dim using_underscore As String

I place the insertion point in front of the first 'u'. I hold down the
Control key and press the right arrow key. The insertion point jumps to just
in front of the 'A' in 'As', treating 'using_underscore' as one word.

I enter the following in SQL view ...

SELECT using_underscore
FROM tblTest;

I place the insertion point in front of the first 'u'. I hold down the
Control key and press the right arrow key. The insertion point jumps to a
position between the underscore character and the first 'u' in the word
'underscore', treating 'using' and 'underscore' as separate words, the same
behaviour that you would get if the underscore was a space.

Do you see different behaviour?

--
Brendan Reynolds (MVP)


"CAD Fiend" wrote in message
...


Brendan Reynolds wrote:

Ctrl+Left and Ctrl+Right don't work with underscores in the VBA editor


Really? I just went and opened my VBA editor (v6.3 ) in Access, and it
worked
fine for me. Are we talking about the same editor?

either (though they do in SQL view). And for most people, the underscore
is
a seldom-used (or at least 'less frequently used') character, and will
slow
down typing.


Yeah, it DOES slow you down a little. But I think it's worth it, when it
comes
to easier navigation over words, and being easier to read.

So there are pros and cons, for and against. As others have
said, there's really no clear-cut right or wrong here.

I'm currently reading a book on coding guidelines for .NET, and one of
the
recommendations the authors make is that you shouldn't use underscores in
names of public properties or methods, but it's OK to use them in private
properties or methods. In other words, if you're the only person who will
ever have to type those names, it's just a matter of personal
preference.
But if you're exposing those names to others it is better to avoid
underscores. I'm inclined to agree with that.


Hmm. Interesting point.



--
Brendan Reynolds (MVP)

"CAD Fiend" wrote in message
...
Gotcha. But one thing about camel case is that you can't use the CTRL
Left
Arrow or Right Arrow on the keyboard when all of the text is together
like
that.

"Douglas J. Steele" wrote:

There's really no right answer: naming conventions are just that,
conventions. (other than no spaces: few, if any, argue that spaces are
okay!)

I personally prefer "camel case": using CapitalLetterToSeparateWords.

--
Doug Steele, Microsoft Access MVP
http://I.Am/DougSteele
(no e-mails, please!)

"CAD Fiend" wrote in message
...
Hello,

What is the proper naming convention for naming fields? Some people
will use underscores between the key words, some just use caps. I
believe that you also should not us spaces. Is that correct? What
about
for table names and such? Does the same practice apply?

TIA.

Phil.





  #13  
Old June 29th, 2005, 09:18 PM
John Vinson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

On Wed, 29 Jun 2005 08:58:28 -0700, CAD Fiend
wrote:

I happen to only disagree with this one point, John. I find the underscores
make it easier to read the field names, but that's just me.


De gustibus non disputandum est!


John W. Vinson[MVP]
 




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