I spend way too time trying to think up variable, class, function, etc... names. Is there a tool or method or trick I can use to cut this time down? [closed]

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Currently my best tool for this is a thesaurus, but I would like to expand my horizons on the matter.

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Invest in a tool that makes refactoring easier. Like in NetBeans, you can easily rename classes and variables. If you use that, you can make a mistake without much problems.

But it is wise to think about the structure of names.

A class I think of as an entity, so its name is noun, like Customer is the name for a class respresenting a customer.

A function (and method too) is a verb. It describes what it does, like getName() returns the name. get and set are common prefixes for functions that return or set a property. That's why they're even called 'getters' and 'setters'. A function name could also be saveCustomer to save a customer, or just save, if it is a method of the customer class.

With some basic rules like that, it should be easy to come up with a reasonable name, which you can always change using the refactory tools found in many editors.

Sometimes it is hard to find a good name. I'm not a native english speaker myself, while the code I write (and the comments) is in english, because it conforms more to existing libraries. Sometimes I find it hard to find the right word. In that case I use a disctionary or just Google to find a translation. Usually googling for 'WordInYourLanguage translation' will give you a list of entries on dictionary sites, from which you probably will recognize the right term.

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Sounds a bit OCD to me...

Most of my code does not face a 2nd pair of eyes, so I sometimes name my variables things such as "BigBoobs"... At the end of the day, the only people that need to know the variable are you and anyone else who may be looking at the code...

As for seriously addressing your question:

I don't think there would really be a variable name generator out there, because that would involve it knowing what your program is actually doing as you do it. If technology like that exists, I guess I will be out of a job.