Why are all-caps constant considered bad coding style? [closed]

Answer 1

Jeff has some additional things to say on this in the comments:

However on the other side and the reason I do still use the all caps and underscore

Less code? That's a worthwhile cause deserving of serious discussion.

But whether you call something "foo", "Foo", "_foo", or "FOO"? Meh.

Naming conventions are highly controversial and religious. Developers should pick something they like, something that's hopefully not too much at odds with the "local conventions", and just go with it. A lot of discussion and hand-wringing over naming isn't worthwhile.

That said, I think ALL CAPS IS REALLY HARD TO READ!

I also use this for constants, but I also can understand why some people don't like it. It's a bit like writing everything in lowercase in german or other languages.

Answer 2

Well, there's the old readability issue. Normally-cased test is just easier to read.

There are exceptions, though. Languages like SQL are usually all upper-case (although case-insensitive).

Also, there are other uses, like to distinguish between "constants" and regular variables, which you'll see in a lot of languages like PHP, Python, etc., even though Jeff for some reason doesn't like that, and it is apparently against the C# code style guidelines.

So generally, I don't think it's wrong anywhere, but I do think that one should always try and follow the general best practises. When in Rome, do as the Romans – when coding Python, follow PEP 8 :)

Answer 3

Just like writing everything in bold is not a good idea

Answer 4

ALL CAPS IS LIKE SHOUTING AT SOMEONE.

Answer 5

Frankly, I don't think it is bad coding style. Indeed, even the official Java code style makes constants all capitals (http://java.sun.com/docs/codeconv/html/CodeConventions.doc8.html), as do other language conventions.

In theory, it's harder to read - we humans like to use the variable height of letters to increase reading speed (we can infer a lot of information from just rough word shape and the first/last letters). However, I don't have a problem with short, all capital phrases. It's hardly "shouting" (you compiler doesn't exactly care how rude you are), and clearly shows the names are potentially mutable, and those that are not.

Answer 6

I don't think that it is wrong. Mostly, it's a personal choice. For your personal coding, do what you want. For you professional coding, follow company policy.