Naming Conventions

Word names in RETRO generally follow the following conventions.

General Guidelines

• Readability is important
• Be consistent
• Don't use a prefix as the first character of a name
• Don't use underscores in word names
• Use short names for indices
• Word names start with a - for "not"
• Words returning a flag end in ?


Typical Format

The word names will generally follow a form like:

[namespace:]name

The namespace: is optional, but recommended for consistency with the rest of the system and to make it easier to identify related words.

Case

Word names are lowercase, with a dash (-) for compound names.

hello drop-pair s:for-each

Variables use TitleCase, with no dash between compound names.

Base Heap StringBuffers

Constants are UPPERCASE, with a dash (-) for compound names.

TRUE FALSE f:PI MAX-STRING-LENGTH

Namespaces

Words are grouped into broad namespaces by attaching a short prefix string to the start of a name.

The common namespaces are:

| Prefix  | Contains                                               | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | | a:      | Words operating on simple arrays                       | | ASCII:  | ASCII character constants for control characters       | | buffer: | Words for operating on a simple linear LIFO buffer     | | c:      | Words for operating on ASCII character data            | | class:  | Contains class handlers for words                      | | d:      | Words operating on the Dictionary                      | | err:    | Words for handling errors                              | | io:     | General I/O words                                      | | n:      | Words operating on numeric data                        | | prefix: | Contains prefix handlers                               | | s:      | Words operating on string data                         | | v:      | Words operating on variables                           | | file:   | File I/O words                                         | | f:      | Floating Point words                                   | | unix:   | Unix system call words                                 |

Tips

Don't Start Names With Prefix Characters

Avoid using a prefix as the first character of a word name. RETRO will look for prefixes first, this will prevent direct use of the work in question.

To find a list of prefix characters, do:

'prefix: d:words-with

Don't Use Underscores

Underscores in strings are replaced by spaces. This is problematic, especially with variables. Consider:

'test_name var #188 !test_name

In this, the string for the name is converted to "test name". The store in the second line will not add the space, so resolves to an incorrect address.

I personally recommend avoiding the use of underscores in any word names.