[Tutor] Re: python_naming_conventions - newbie

[Alan Gauld]

> When I started programming in Pascal, we were taught to write
"BEGIN". When I
> switched to Delphi, which uses "begin" in all generated code, I
found that
> lowercase stuff quite annoying. Not too long ago I looked at an old
Pascal
> program and found the all-caps impossible to read again :).

One reason COBOL is so hard to maintain is that it uses all uppercase
for everything. Uppercase is much harder for the human brain to
comprehend because much of our cognitive system is based on the
shape of words not the exact sequence of letters. By using
uppercase the shape variation is lost - all words look square.

As to the underscore_thing verses mixedCase I use a mixture
depending on the name. Some things dont look right(to me)
using MixedCase, others are too long using underscores.

So far as I know there is no conclusive data favouring one over
the other, like many stylistic issues intenal consistency is more
important than which one you pick.

Alan G.