Overcomplicating Naming Leads to Chaos
TL;DR: Naming is hard, don't make it harder with unnecessary accidental complexity.
Unclear, misleading, vague, and ambiguous names
Redundant terminology
Confusing abstractions
Cryptic abbreviations
Simplify naming conventions
Ensure consistency
Avoid unnecessary jargon
Use descriptive names based on behavior
Maintain consistent terminology
Ludwig Wittgenstein argued that much confusion arises from language misuse.
This happens when you overcomplicate names, mix metaphors, or use inconsistent terminology.
When you name classes, methods, or variables without clarity, you create a linguistic maze that others struggle to navigate.
This causes bugs, makes maintenance harder, and leads to team frustration.
public class AbstractDataHandlerManager { private String dtStr; public void execProcessingOps(String input) { if (dtStr != null && !dtStr.isEmpty()) { // process } } }
public class SETIProcessor { public void processSignal(String input) { // process } } }
[X] Manual
You can detect this smell when names start to get long, or when you see "Abstract", "Manager," "Handler," "Helper", or "Data" too often.
Another sign is when you must explain what a name means to other developers for example in a code review.
[X] Beginner
AI generators often create this smell by producing verbose and generic names that attempt to cover every possible context.
They are experts in many domains and write code, but frequently they don't do both at once unless instructed.
AI generators can sometimes fix this smell with simple refactoring instructions like "simplify names" or "remove redundant terms," but struggle with deeper contextual understanding.
Linguistic confusion in code leads to unnecessary complexity.
Use clear, consistent, and straightforward naming to make your code easier to read and maintain.
Wittgenstein's concept of linguistic confusion
程式碼味道是我的觀點。
照片由 Mimi Thian 在 Unsplash 上拍攝
清晰語言最大的敵人是不真誠。
喬治·奧威爾
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