Newbie's Cheatsheet: Commonly used verbs for naming functions, methods and variables

Do you follow your instinct when choosing a verb in your function?

Do you use a number of synonyms for the same purpose inconsistently?

If the answer is yes, you are not the only one.

In order to write a clean code, or at least to attempt it, we need to know what words are commonly used so that we can use them, and people can understand easier what we are trying to do.

At the same time, we need to stick with one word for one concept rather than using synonyms inconsistently.

In this post, I'll summarise commonly used verbs found in programming books and Github regardless of the type of programming language, so we can find the best-suited verbs for our own needs.

On the tables below, we'll see 5 rows:

The verb
The number of times the verb is written on Github to give us some ideas on how commonly it's used
Its general definition
Examples
Synonyms to avoid using to express the same concept

Just bear with me, this is not a complete list of common words, so please do let me know in the comment if you find some of the definition is too biased on certain programming languages. I'll also be grateful if you could teach me any other verbs that you think it's common!

I hope this post helps us, newbies choose a suitable verb and stick to it.

1️⃣ Alteration
2️⃣ Creation
3️⃣ Establishment
4️⃣ Obtainment
5️⃣ True or False Statement
6️⃣ Conclusion

1. Alteration

Verb	Written on Github	Definition	Examples	Synonyms to avoid
set	2B	Often used to put data in an existing resource such as an attribute of an object.	set_name(), set_store_id()
change	668M	Often used when a whole thing, such as image, is replaced by something else	change_image(), change_colour()	edit
edit	325M	Often used same as change. It could be used especially when action is responsible for rendering the view.	edit_title(), edit_record()	change
update	739M	Often used when one or more of the components is updated as a result, and something new could also be added.	update_file()
add	1B	Often used to add something into a group of the things.	add_item(), add_member()	append
append	287M	Often used same as add. It could be used when it does not modify the original group of things but produce the new group.	append_item(), append_element()	add
remove	824M	Often used when a given thing is removed from a group of the things.	remove_record(), remove_item()	delete
delete	455M	Often used same as remove, but it could also render nonrecoverable.	delete_record(), delete_item()	remove
save	478M	Often used when preserving data to avoid loss.	save_json(), save_order()	store
store	396M	Often used the same way as save.	store_json(), store_order()	save
disable	586M	Often used to configure a resource an unavailable or inactive state.	disable_user()	hide
hide	237M	Often has the same intention as disable, by hiding it.	hide_field()	disable
split	276M	Used when separating parts of a resource.	split_table(), split_group()	separate
separate	151M	Often used the same way as the verb split.	separate_table(), separate_group()	split
merge	312M	Often used when creating a single resource from multiple resource.	merge_records(), merge_tables()	join
join	220M	It can be used in a same way as merge.	join_records(), join_tables()	merge

2. Creation

Verb	Written on Github	Definition	Examples	Confusing synonyms
create	1B	Used when creating a resource.	create_package(), create_directory()	make, generate
make	797M	Often used in a same way as create.	make_package(), make_statement()	create, generate
generate	286M	Often used in a same way as create.	generate_directory(), generate_statement()	create, make
copy	1B	Used when creating a resource with the same structure and data as the original one.	copy_file(), copy_graph()	clone
clone	147M	Could be used in a same way as copy.	clone_file(), clone_graph()	copy

3. Establishment

Verb	Written on Github	Definition	Examples	Confusing synonyms
start	1B	Generally used when initiating an operation.	start_listening()	begin
begin	342M	Often used in a same way as start.	begin_listening()	start
open	854M	Used when changing state of a resource to make it accessible or usable.	open_file()

4. Obtainment

Verb	Written on Github	Definition	Examples	Confusing synonyms
get	2B	Generally used to obtain a resource.	get_data(), get_store_id()	fetch, retrieve
fetch	146M	Can be used in a same way as get.	fetch_data(), fetch_store_id()	get, retrieve
retrieve	116M	Can be used in a same way as get or fetch	retrieve_data(), retrieve_store_id()	get, fetch
read	1B	Used when acquiring data from a source.	read_file()
find	672M	Used when looking for an unknown data in a container.	find_element(), find_keyword()	search
search	438M	Generally used in a same way as find. It may refer to look for an unknown data from multiple containers.	search_element(), search_keyword()	find
close	492M	Used when changing state of a resource to make it inaccessible or unusable.	close_file()

5. True or False Statement

Verb	Written on Github	Definition	Examples
is	3B	Used when defining state of a resource.	Method: is_available(), is_correct() Variables: name_is_available, date_is_correct
has	1B	Used to define whether a resource contains a certain data.	Method: has_name(), has_date() Variables: person_has_name, course_has_date
can	2B	Used to define a certain ability of a resource.	can_load(), can_create()
should	1B	Used to define a certain obligation of a resource.	should_render(), should_print_message()

6. Conclusion

Writing clean code is not a skill that we can obtain overnight. But at the same time, I believe that we can improve the quality of code significantly and constantly by learning the wisdom of other people's clean code. To write this bost, I gained so many ideas from the book Clean Code written by Robert C. Martin and many codes on Github. I especially recommend the book for anyone who is just started coding. Many of the contents might seem going too far for newbies, but I am certain that this book will be my forever reference for my career as a developer.

Thanks to these people who share their own hard work!

Thanks for reading. If you have any opinion or question, please leave a comment below! In the meantime, please follow me on Linkedin @Maiko Miyazaki or Twitter @Maiko Miyazaki

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Newbie's Cheatsheet: Commonly used verbs for naming functions, methods and variables

Maiko Miyazaki

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