Local variable and parameter names should be short, yet meaningful. They are often short sequences of lowercase letters that are not words. For example:
cp
for a variable holding a reference to a ColoredPoint
buf
holding a pointer to a buffer
of some kind
One-character local variable or parameter names should be avoided, except for temporary and looping variables, or where a variable holds an undistinguished value of a type. Conventional one-character names are:
b
for a byte
c
for a char
d
for a double
e
for an Exception
f
for a float
i
, j
, and k
for integers
l
for a long
o
for an Object
s
for a String
v
for an arbitrary value of some type
Local variable or parameter names that consist of only two or three uppercase letters should be avoided to avoid potential conflicts with the initial country codes and domain names that are the first component of unique package names (§7.7).
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (c. 1594), Act II, scene ii
Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose.
Gertrude Stein, "Sacred Emily" (1913), in Geographies and Plays
. . . stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus.
Bernard of Morlay, De contemptu mundi (12th century),
quoted in Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose (1980)