Out of personal experience and reading other people’s code,\u00a0 I have come to realize a small but very tricky issue about how NOT to name boolean variables or any kind of variable where the code to evaluate is usually in the form of a boolean expression.<\/p>\n
The pitfall to avoid is :<\/p>\n
Do not use a name with a negative meaning or connotation<\/strong><\/p>\n Instead of naming it notpassed <\/em>call it failed . <\/em>Instead of calling it no_data_present <\/em>call it data_absent<\/em><\/p>\n The reason is simple. While reading the code, a negative sounding boolean variable causes more confusion than required.<\/p>\n Example:<\/p>\n bool not_done = false;<\/em><\/p>\n Various ways of checking it :<\/p>\n if (not_done) { }<\/em><\/p>\n if {!not_done) {}<\/em><\/p>\n if (not not_done) then \/\/VB style<\/em><\/p>\n while (not_done\u00a0 == false)<\/em><\/p>\n Try reading the above lines to yourself and you will see sometimes it gets confusing to actually understand what the condition is checking for really.<\/p>\n By common programming convention when we use a conditional operator , we are generally trying to see something positive has happened, so if the variable itself sounds like it stands for something positive it makes for easier understanding of the code.<\/p>\n Lets try the above example with a positive sounding variable:<\/p>\n bool done = false;<\/em><\/p>\n Various ways of checking it :<\/p>\n if (done) { }<\/em><\/p>\n if {!done) {}<\/em><\/p>\n if (not done) then \/\/VB style<\/em><\/p>\n while (done\u00a0 == false)<\/em><\/p>\n I think the above statements are easier to understand now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"