27.5 Naming Functions

20201102

Function argument names use underscore separated nouns. Whilst function argument names do not risk being confused with class hierarchies the use of period to separate the nouns has become obsolete in the tidyverse world.

Preferred

build\_cyc(num\_frames=10)

Discouraged

build\_cyc(num.frames=10)
build\_cyc(numFrames=10)

Keep variable and function names shorter but self explanatory. A long variable or function name is problematic with layout and similar names are hard to tell apart. Single letter names like x and y are often used within functions and facilitate understanding, particularly for mathematically oriented functions but should otherwise be avoided. % Andrie de Vries noted this one. l Preferred

# Perform addition.

add\_squares <- function(x, y)
{
  return(x^2 + y^2)
}

Discouraged

# Perform addition.

add\_squares <- function(first\_argument, second\_argument)
{
  return(first\_argument^2 + second\_argument^2)
}


Your donation will support ongoing availability and give you access to the PDF version of this book. Desktop Survival Guides include Data Science, GNU/Linux, and MLHub. Books available on Amazon include Data Mining with Rattle and Essentials of Data Science. Popular open source software includes rattle, wajig, and mlhub. Hosted by Togaware, a pioneer of free and open source software since 1984. Copyright © 1995-2022 Graham.Williams@togaware.com Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0