[swift-evolution] Case conventions for mixed-case words (like

[Xiaodi Wu]

On Thu, May 5, 2016 at 5:31 PM, Haravikk via swift-evolution <
swift-evolution at swift.org> wrote:

> NaN is really a problem only because of using it as an acronym rather than
> just having .invalidNumber or .notANumber (little uglier) or something
> similar instead. This comes back to the annoying consideration between
> something being prior art, at the cost of potentially defining something
> that’s better, or a better fit for the language. If NaN didn’t exist
> elsewhere, would we even consider it at all if we were implementing float
> point numbers for the first ever time in Swift? I’d prefer we defined
> something more verbose as an alternative to avoid the acronym entirely.
>
> When it comes to having iPad conformance the question is; should we ever
> actually test for names at all? An iPad is a brand, it’s not really
> something that a program should test for, as what’s important to a program
> are capabilities. The same is true with testing for an OS, we don’t want to
> test Windows, Mac etc., but rather to test what libraries are available.
> Same is true with hardware; it doesn’t matter if a device is an iPad, what
> matters is that it has a touch-screen rather than a keyboard, that it has a
> small screen rather than a full monitor, that it’s mobile (and not plugged
> in) etc.
> Testing for names like that should be avoided at all costs when it comes
> to variable and method names, and be relegated to string-based tests for
> when you absolutely have to access that information. In other words
> programs should be platform agnostic, and only need to know whether
> capabilities they require or optionally support exist or not.
> For these I’d prefer that the guidelines warn against these in the
> strongest possible terms, as they’re usually a bad idea IMO.


Whether using the word iPad is wise or not, the question still remains what
to do when encountering a term that looks like that. If I'm writing an app
that deals with chemical compounds, how should I name a type that deals
with pH? How about a computed property representing pH? Should either or
both be PH, pH, or ph? It certainly will not do to say "just name it
powerOfHydrogen".
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