CamelCase may be a term that web developers are not as fimiliar with, as traditional Java or C developers may be, but none the less, is useful to know what it means. You may infact use CamelCase already when you code, but not even know it.
CamelCase is simply a way of creating variable names for compound words. When you capatolize each new word, for example firstName, or MiddleName you're using Camel Case. The first letter of the CamelCase word can either be upper case or lower case, if you use upper case, it's known as UpperCamelCase. If the first letter is lower case, then you call it lowerCamelCase.
The Wikipedia has lots more info including the history of CamelCase, as well as as list of CamelCase synonyms:
- BumpyCaps
- BumpyCase
- CamelCaps
- CamelHumpedWord
- CapWords in Python
- mixedCase (for lowerCamelCase) in Python
- ClCl (Capital-lower Capital-lower) and sometimes ClC
- HumpBackNotation
- InterCaps
- InternalCapitalization
- NerdCaps
- WordsStrungTogether or WordsRunTogether
My favorite is NerdCaps
Comments
I have to admit, I too used the phrase "lowerCamelCase" until Spike beat it into my head to call it "headless CamelCase". Now I'm not sure what to go by anymore. ...and my head still hurts.
For some reason, I was thinking that Camel Case = myNameWithoutTheFirstLetterCappedButAllOtherWordsCapped, And it was something else like Pascal Case for MyNameWithAllWordsCapped...
The CF "Style" guidelines out of MM referr to mixedCaseInitLower when talking about lowerCamelCase. http://livedocs.macromedia.com/wtg/public/coding_standards/style.html
I tend to go all lower case, and if i need to I use _ to create breaks in the name... Especially to prevent scope creep.
I used mixedCaseInitLower (and MixedCase) because they are fairly self-explanatory and I didn't expect most CFers to be familiar with headlessCamelCase and CamelCase (although in a recent revision I added both of those terms as "also known as" for those folks who *do* know them!).