Name: Encyclopedia II - Name - Naming convention

Name - Naming convention

A naming convention is an attempt to systematize names in a field so they unambiguously convey similar information in a similar manner.

Several major naming conventions include:

• In computer programming, identifier naming conventions
• In the sciences, systematic names for a variety of things
• In astronomy, planetary nomenclature
• In classics, Roman naming conventions

Naming conventions are useful in many aspects of everyday life, enabling the casual user to understand larger structures.

Street names within a city may follow a naming convention. In Manhattan, street names are numbers and East-West streets are "Streets" whereas North-South streets are "Avenues". In Ontario, numbered concession roads are East-West whereas "lines" are North-South routes. In San Francisco some East-West streets are alphabetically ordered. In Brampton, Ontario, different sections of town all have streets starting with the same letter and the alphabetical order reflects chronology. In Phoenix, Arizona, roads east of Central Avenue are streets while those west are Avenues.

Large corporate, university, or government campuses may follow a naming convention for rooms within the buildings to help orient tenants and visitors.

Parents may follow a naming convention when selecting names for their children. Some have chosen alphabetical names by birth order. In some Asian cultures, it is common for the middle name (generation name) to be common for immediate siblings. In many cultures it is common for the son to be named after the father. In other cultures, the name may include the place of residence. Roman naming convention denotes social rank.

Domain names may have a naming convention. Each domain name owner is free to set their own conventions.

Products may follow a naming convention. Automobiles typically have a binomial name, a "make" (manufacturer) and a "model", in addition to a model year. Sometimes there is a name for the car's "decoration level" as well: e.g., Jaguar XJ6 Vandenplas, after the name of a carrosier. Computers often have increasing numbers in their names to signify the next generation.

Courses at schools typically follow a naming convention: an abbreviation for the subject area and then a number ordered by increasing level of difficulty.

Many numbers (e.g. bank accounts, government IDs, credit cards, etc) are not random but have an internal structure and convention. Virtually all organizations that assign names or numbers will follow some convention in generating these identifiers. Airline flight numbers, Space shuttle flight numbers, even phone numbers all have an internal convention.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Naming convention", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki