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Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names
Jamie points out this interesting article about how hard it is for programmers to get names right. Since software ultimately is used by and for humans, and we humans are pretty tightly linked to our names (whatever the language, spelling, or orthography), this is a big deal. This piece notes some of the ways that names get mishandled, and suggests rules of thumb (in the form of anti-suggestions) to encourage programmers to handle names more gracefully.
3Jane Tessier-Ashpool, for one.
homonyms?
Hey, learn a little tolerance, bud.
OMG! Wau!
I prefer the story of this mom.
Sapere aude!
Well, for starters, Thurston B. Howell, III. Malcolm X, and Jimmy Two Times.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I found the article to be contrived and pointless.
Yes, there are people and entities that do not fit into a normal name slot in a database, and no, I don't care at all because it hasn't been a problem for anything I've written in the last thrity years. When someone pops up and says "My name is this thing I drew on the sidewalk using chipmunk poop, and it doesn't fit in your database", I'll say "Yes, you're right it doesn't, then go have a beer.
You can't handle every edge case in the universe because you'll never actually release anything.
You've probably compiled a lengthly list of sites vulnerable to SQL-injection. I'm sure you could sell that to someone somewhere to compensate you for your pain and suffering.
You're not a programmer, are you?
Oh, don't worry, I can tell.
No problem is insoluble in all conceivable circumstances.
If you program like you talk, you'll never ship anyway, because it'll never compile.
Unexpected EOF in String constant:
"Yes, you're right it doesn't, then go have a beer.
You can't handle every edge case in the universe because you'll never actually release anything.
Nice rules. Still wouldn't handle my name.