Effective Java 56 Adhere to generally accepted naming conventions

Typographical naming conventions

   

Identifier Type	Type Examples
Package	com.google.inject, org.joda.time.format
Class or Interface	Timer, FutureTask, LinkedHashMap, HttpServlet
Method or Field	remove, ensureCapacity, getCrc
Constant Field	MIN_VALUE, NEGATIVE_INFINITY
Local Variable	i, xref, houseNumber
Type Parameter	T, E, K, V, X, T1, T2

   

Grammatical conventions

Identifier Type	Type Examples
Package	no rules
Class or Interface	Timer, BufferedWriter, or ChessPiece. Collection or Comparator. Runnable, Iterable, or Accessible. BindingAnnotation, Inject, ImplementedBy, or Singleton
Method	append or drawImage isDigit, isProbablePrime, isEmpty, isEnabled, or hasSiblings. size, hashCode, or getTime toType(toString, toArray) asType(asList) typeValue(intValue), static factories(valueOf, of, getInstance, newInstance, getType, newType)
Field	initialized, composite, height, digits, or bodyStyle
Constant Field	MIN_VALUE, NEGATIVE_INFINITY
Local Variable	i, xref, houseNumber
Type Parameter	T, E, K, V, X, T1, T2

   

Summary

Internalize the standard naming conventions and learn to use them as second nature. The typographical conventions are straightforward and largely unambiguous; the grammatical conventions are more complex and looser. To quote from The Java Language Specification [JLS, 6.8], "These conventions should not be followed slavishly if long-held conventional usage dictates otherwise." Use common sense.