swift-guide

Naming

In general, follow the official guidelines.

Conventions

Naming a file

• All Swift files should use the .swift extension.
• The name of a file should make it clear what the contents are. For example, if there is a single class named EasyTapButton then the file should be called EasyTapButton.swift. If you have a view controller, along with some helper types, then using the name of the view controller will likely be the best choice. A good heuristic to use is that if it’s ever unclear what to name a file, it may be worth splitting that file up.
• There’s no three-letter prefix in Swift file naming. For example, if an Objective-C file named XYZEvent.m is to be converted to Swift, it should be renamed to Event.swift.
• If a file contains extensions, then the file name should be MyType+Extensions.swift unless the extension is purely adopting a protocol; in that case the extension should be named MyType+ProtocolBeingConformedTo.swift, for example MyDictionary+NSCopying.swift

Naming a class, a struct or a protocol

• Naming should be UpperCamelCase
• No Objective-C style prefixes should be used

Naming a class or a protocol available in Objective-C

Provide a pre-fixed Objective-C name before the class or protocol definition.

Example

@objc class Event {
    // bad: exported to Objective-C as class Event without a prefix
}

@objc(XYZEvent)
class Event {
    // good
}

Naming a protocol

• There is no need to add a prefix to a Swift protocol in order to distinguish it from a Swift class or struct.
• A protocol that describes what something is should read as nouns (e.g. Collection).
• A protocol that describes a capability should be named using the suffixes able, ible, or ing (e.g. Equatable, ProgressReporting).”

Example

protocol IFooEventHandler {
    // bad: the "I" prefix is not necessary
}

protocol FooEventHandler {
    // bad: "er" is not a good suffix for a protocol
}

protocol FooEventHandling {
    // good
}

Naming a delegate method

The first parameter should always be the item that is calling the delegate method.

Rationale

Dedicating the first parameter to be the item that is calling the delegate method follows Apple’s API design pattern.

Example:

// really bad: there's no parameter for the item that is calling the delegate method.
func didDeleteDraft()

// bad: the delegate method caller is not the first parameter
func didDeleteDraft(draft: Draft, draftManager: DraftManager)

// good
func draftManager(_ manager: DraftManager, didDeleteDraft draft: Draft)

Naming an event handler method

An event handler method should be name following this pattern:

handle<EventSource>[<Action>]

where EventSource is the UIControl or NSNotification which fired the event and Action is a past-tense verb described what happened.

Example:

// bad: unclear what was the event source
// An NSNotification handler (EventSource=KeyboardDidShowNotification, Action=NULL)
didShowKeyboardNotification()

// good: the event source is clearly part of the function name
// An NSNotification handler (EventSource=KeyboardDidShowNotification, Action=NULL)
handleKeyboardDidShowNotification()

// bad: unclear that this function is handling the notification
// A UIButton handler (EventSource=ConfirmButton, Action=Tapped)
confirmButtonWasTapped()

// good: the function clearly handles the notification
// A UIButton handler (EventSource=ConfirmButton, Action=Tapped)
handleConfirmButtonTapped()

Variables and Properties

• Naming should be lowerCamelCase.
• Variable names should always be descriptive with the exception of counter/index variables e.g. index and counter.
• Include the name of the type if the naming is ambiguous; e.g. let confirm: Button is bad, but let confirmButton: Button is good.
• For booleans, use prefixes such as is and has make it clear that a variable is a boolean.

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