Reka Horvath

The Name of the Rose

A reused, single-letter flag led to a system failure that cost a company $500 million. Learn how better naming prevents catastrophic bugs.

The Name of the Rose
#1about 3 minutes

Why good naming is critical for understanding code

Good names act as an introduction to a domain's core concepts, making code more approachable for newcomers.

#2about 2 minutes

How mental models influence code interpretation

We process code using the same mental shortcuts as natural language, creating meaningful chunks and making assumptions based on names.

#3about 3 minutes

The danger of misleading function names

A function's name must not misrepresent its behavior, such as hiding side effects or returning unexpected types.

#4about 2 minutes

Using specific names instead of general terms

Overly general names like 'process' or 'handle' obscure a function's true purpose and should be replaced with more descriptive alternatives.

#5about 4 minutes

Establishing a one-to-one mapping for concepts

Maintain clarity by assigning exactly one name to each concept, avoiding both synonyms and using one name for multiple different ideas.

#6about 3 minutes

A cautionary tale of catastrophic naming failure

The Knight Capital case illustrates how a seemingly small naming ambiguity, when combined with other system faults, can lead to massive financial loss.

#7about 5 minutes

Designing consistent and intuitive APIs

APIs that are consistent with domain nomenclature or established frameworks are easier for developers to learn and use correctly.

#8about 2 minutes

Keeping names updated as code and business evolve

Names must be re-evaluated and updated when underlying technology or business domain concepts change to prevent them from becoming misleading.

#9about 4 minutes

Summary of key principles for effective naming

The core principles of good naming are to avoid being misleading, consider the reader's perspective, respect context, and maintain names over time.

Related jobs
Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.

Matching moments

Recognizing common code smells in your codebase
10:21 MIN

Recognizing common code smells in your codebase

I will have to refactor ! And now ? Refactoring Techniques in Java

Navigating the challenges of modern software development
08:35 MIN

Navigating the challenges of modern software development

System Resilience: Surviving the Software Storm

Defining code smells and their importance in development
01:01 MIN

Defining code smells and their importance in development

Identifying code smells

Addressing the challenge of growing software complexity
08:37 MIN

Addressing the challenge of growing software complexity

Model Based Systems Engineering in an Agile Product Development Process

Preventing architectural decay and code structure issues
25:17 MIN

Preventing architectural decay and code structure issues

Antipatterns - nemesis of software development

What is refactoring and why is it important
00:34 MIN

What is refactoring and why is it important

I will have to refactor ! And now ? Refactoring Techniques in Java

Why developers make basic cybersecurity mistakes
00:28 MIN

Why developers make basic cybersecurity mistakes

Don't Be A Naive Developer: How To Avoid Basic Cybersecurity Mistakes

Addressing the misuse of tools, code, and dependencies
36:00 MIN

Addressing the misuse of tools, code, and dependencies

Antipatterns - nemesis of software development

Featured Partners

Related Videos

See all videos
It’s all about the domain, honey ! Experiences from 15 years of Domain-Driven Design43:13

It’s all about the domain, honey ! Experiences from 15 years of Domain-Driven Design

Carola Lilienthal

Intentional Code - Minimalism in a World of Dogmatic Design25:03

Intentional Code - Minimalism in a World of Dogmatic Design

David Whitney

Antipatterns - nemesis of software development39:49

Antipatterns - nemesis of software development

Mustafa Toroman

Identifying code smells26:59

Identifying code smells

Benjamin Bischoff

"I will remember that" and other lies - Why documentation matters and it makes your apps better25:25

"I will remember that" and other lies - Why documentation matters and it makes your apps better

Luise Freese

The QUEST for Better Software23:44

The QUEST for Better Software

Richard Bown

Keep your code refactorable26:46

Keep your code refactorable

Gerrit Stapper

Resolving technical debts in software architecture24:38

Resolving technical debts in software architecture

Carola Lilienthal

From learning to earning

Jobs that call for the skills explored in this talk.

Rust and GoLang

Rust and GoLang

NHe4a GmbH
Karlsruhe, Germany

Remote
€55-65K
Intermediate
Senior
Go
Rust
Software Engineer

Software Engineer

tree-IT GmbH
Bad Neustadt an der Saale, Germany

Remote
€54-80K
Intermediate
Senior
Java
TypeScript
Spring Boot