Where do we draw the line with vocabulary when naming?

Question

The other day I was looking through our code and I came across a class name IdempotentObject I didn't know what this meant at the time so I questioned whether it was a poorly chosen name. I found out who wrote it and asked the developer why he had named it so confusingly. He was surprised that I didn't know what it meant and told me that it was a well chosen name because the object is Idempotent.

On one side I see an argument for keeping it simple and having everyone understand what everything is at first reading. On the other hand we have the idea that we should name things precisely and if you don't know the meaning look it up.

Which one is better, precise or easy to understand at a glance?

Answer 1

Precise is more important. The initial developer or you could have left a comment afterward to explain the naming if it is not a term that can easily be found in a dictionary or generally known to the audience.

Answer 2

I would recommend restricting names to one that are within the domain of the problem. Idempotent would be acceptable for a high level math application. I would prefer to use another name if this was an accounting application.

Comments can be helpful in some cases, but I prefer to change names.

Answer 3

No offence, but anybody with a CS degree or who hopes to practice in the field should recognize the term "Idempotent" as having a specific meaning in computer science even if you don't know the term and have to look it up.

On the other hand, I don't think objects should have the word "Object" in the name - that's redundant.

Now, if it were called "IdempotentDataAccessor" or something that is both precise and descriptive, that would be good.

Answer 4

Well, thats very subjective. Maybe for the guy who wrote the class the name was very easy to understand. Its very hard to determine what vocabulary is easy or hard to understand because the people who read the code can have many different backgrounds.

Answer 5

"I didn't know what this meant at the time so I decided that it was a poorly chosen name."

There's your problem. If you don't know what something means the correct response is to find out.

Answer 6

I can't think of any other concise way to describe idempotence. I don't think this is a problem, since idempotence is a very frequently used term in RESTful interfaces, and clear descriptions are easy to find in a Google search.

Answer 7

As a developer you are used to seeing code, noticing a feature of a language or library which you aren't familiar with, looking it up, and incorporating it into your own usage of that language.

This is no different.

You don't of force others to avoid the lessor known features of C#, why would you do so for the English, or any other, language?

Look it up, learn it. Whether you use it is up to you, but please don't restrict other's usage. You have a reference.