Suggestion that might save newbies a lot of time Cat != CAT

MikeOliverAZ · **Posted:** Fri Oct 07, 2005 2:06 pm

In the Documentation you use the Cat object in many places. The problem is, you name the table it works with "CAT" as well. So when you look at examples like a createQuery("from Cat") it isn't intuitive that the "Cat" in this case is the object Cat and not the table CAT.

Someone coming from an adequate knowledge of SQL might look at the HQL query "from Cat" and see it as a shortcut SQL statement, as I did.

Since it doesn't matter what names you use in these examples, doesn't it make more sense NOT to have object name = Cat and table name = CAT?

Would it not be every bit as good to have the table name be CATTABLE?

Then when a newbie is looking at createQuery("from Cat") he won't confuse it with the sql statement "SELECT * FROM CATTABLE".

Just a suggestion for the next time someone touches the documentation.

kgignatyev · **Posted:** Fri Oct 07, 2005 3:33 pm

Good idea.
I only suggest following this DB naming convention http://weblogs.asp.net/jamauss/articles ... tions.aspx
and have table names as plurals: i.e. Cat is the object and Cats is the table.
Plurals make SQL more like normal language.

MikeOliverAZ · **Posted:** Fri Oct 07, 2005 4:12 pm

it isn't necessary to be rigid, and any way that is simple, does not confuse and is easy to remember will work.

In our own 'coding standards' we advise for naming,

Quote:

Keep names as simple and concise as possible while describing the contents enough to avoid confusion. Above all do not mislead by calling an int variable myDouble or a Double variable myInt, etc. Lastly within a system or application, have ONE name for ONE value and only change the name when the variable may have or requires a different value.

Cat and Cats works, Cat and CATTABLE works just Cat and CAT does not.

d · **Joined:** Mon Jul 04, 2005 5:19 pm **Posts:** 720

How is CATTABLE concise? is it a CatClass also ?

i'm going to drive my Ford truck now to Walmart the store and buy some apples fruit with some dollars currency ?

MikeOliverAZ · **Posted:** Sun Oct 09, 2005 9:20 am

Dennis,

If your use of concise is limited to "as few words as possible" you might be right that CATTABLE and CATCLASS would not be as "concise" as possible. Although I did NOT suggest changing both names.

But that's not the point, the point is to avoid confusion over Cat vs CAT when they are different "things". To me it doesn't matter what is used IF it avoids confusion so the "Cat" for the class name and "Cats" for the tablename which is normally converted to "CATS" fits your usage of "concise" and is less confusing.

MikeOliverAZ · **Posted:** Sun Oct 09, 2005 1:45 pm

dennisbyrne wrote:

How is CATTABLE concise? is it a CatClass also ?

i'm going to drive my Ford truck now to Walmart the store and buy some apples fruit with some dollars currency ?

Well if Ford was ambiguous or Walmart was ambiguous or dollars ambiguous, then perhaps you would need more to "avoid confusion".

Thinking about your analogy, what if it were "I went to Apple for an apple", am I going for a fruit or a computer?