Code Complete, 2nd Edition

Kinds of Names to Avoid

Here are some guidelines regarding variable names to avoid:

Avoid misleading names or abbreviations. Make sure that a name is unambiguous. For example, FALSE is usually the opposite of TRUE and would be a bad abbreviation for "Fig and Almond Season."

Avoid names with similar meanings. If you can switch the names of two variables without hurting the program, you need to rename both variables. For example, input and inputValue, recordNum and numRecords, and fileNumber and fileIndex are so semantically similar that if you use them in the same piece of code you'll easily confuse them and install some subtle, hard-to-find errors.

Avoid variables with different meanings but similar names. If you have two variables with similar names ...