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View System Documentation - Naming Conventions

This page describes how things are named in the IBIS-PH View System. These names include filenames, variable names, database field names, and XML data element names. The following four sections are organized by the naming convention and what items are named that way. A short narrative is provided which describes what the intent is.

MixedCaseWithStartingLetterCapitalized

Items named with this naming convention are typically content manager data files or a definition of an item within a programming context. These include:
Typically these items which are named with "MixedCase" names are considered definitions of something - not instances of something. It is noted that this highly depends on the perspective e.g. db records from a db designer perspective would say that an indicator record is simply an instance of type indicator. From a user's perspective they're defining Low Birth Weight Utah v.s. US.


mixedCaseWithStartingLetterLowerCase

Items named using this convention are typically instances of something - although again this depends on the perspective. The items listed below are all programming language related and in the application developer domain:
XSLT API TYPE TEMPLATES: These are named with a "api." type prefix. For example the "Page.xslt" XSLT file defines/contains a set of templates that make the Page API. These templates are meant to be able to be used, reused, and overridden. It is a good practice to have some type of prefix on the template name the developer has an idea of where to look to find the template. It also helps to provide some extra information about what that template does and where it fits in.

XSLT GLOBAL VARIABLES: These are named with a "filename." type prefix. This is similar to the API naming convention discussed above. If a global variable is to be used outside of the current XSLT, it is often prefixed with a value that matches the file from where it is defined. This again helps a developer to locate the variable and to provide a little insight.


all_lower_case_with_words_seperated_by_underscore

This naming convention applies only to "IBIS-PH View System" file names and the application's file directories. A "system" file is a file that is part of the core application and is not content manager maintain data. These files are created and maintained by application developers or web designers and include the following file names:
System related files are named this way as a carry over from old school Unix system administrators who pretty much insisted on all files being lower case. This also helps when deploying into different operating systems that may or may not be case sensitive. Another benefit is that it also helps distinguish between system files and files that are auto generated or that users (super users) create and maintain.


ALL_UPPERCASE_WITH_WORDS_SEPERATED_BY_UNDERSCORE

Items named using this naming convention include data element fields and static Java variables. Specifically these are:
DB table and column names this is simply a standard that Garth carried over from years of db work - old habits die hard. Also, this is pretty much a standard that most db developers have used for 15+ years.

IBIS XML element names are named this way because they are created from DB tables which are named this way. The module element names do NOT come from a DB table but the thought was/is to someday create a GUI front end for this that would keep the definition in a db. Plus it's consistent with all other IBIS XML elements. It also helps distinguish IBIS XML elements.