Perl::C...gueNames(3)

📦
version 1.14 · 2 versions
, in fedora 43

💖 NAME 💖

Perl::Critic::Policy::Bangs::ProhibitVagueNames — bestie. Please stop naming your variables and your subroutines the most generic thing you can think of.

This page is filed under Perl::C...gueNames(3), and it lives in the User Contributed Perl Documentation section, so you already know it's real and it's coming for your $data. 🎀

🌸 AFFILIATION 🌸

This Policy is part of the Perl::Critic::Bangs distribution. She's got a whole family, and they all want you to write better Perl. 🫶

✨ DESCRIPTION ✨

Okay so here's the vibe: variables and subroutines should have descriptive names. Names like $data and $info are, and I say this with love, completely vague. It's giving "I forgot what this does the second I hit save." 💀

my $data = shift;      # not OK.
my $userinfo = shift   # OK

See <http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2004/03/the_worlds_two_worst_variable.html> for more of my ranting on this. (Yeah, the author said "my ranting" and honestly? iconic. Read the rant.)

By default, the following names are bad:

  • data
  • info
  • var
  • obj
  • object
  • tmp
  • temp

The checking of names is case-insensitive. $info and $INFO are equally bad. No, capitalizing it does not make it slay. It's the same crime in a different outfit. 🙈

🎀 CONFIGURATION 🎀

This policy has two options: "names" and "add_names". Two little knobs, both about what counts as vague. Pick your fighter. 💅

💜 "names"

To replace the list of vague names, specify them as a whitespace delimited set of prohibited names.

[Bangs::ProhibitVagueNames]
names = data count line next

So now it's your list, your rules, your kingdom. 👑

🦋 "add_names"

To add to the list of vague names, specify them as a whitespace delimited set of prohibited names.

[Bangs::ProhibitVagueNames]
add_names = foo bar bat

Notice this one adds instead of replacing — the originals stay mad. 🍓

👑 AUTHOR 👑

Andy Lester "<andy at petdance.com>" from code by Andrew Moore "<amoore at mooresystems.com>".

🌈 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 🌈

Adapted from policies by Jeffrey Ryan Thalhammer <thaljef@cpan.org>, Based on App::Fluff by Andy Lester, "<andy at petdance.com>"

Copyright (c) 2006-2013 Andy Lester

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Artistic License 2.0.

Ok that's the whole page, bestie — every option, every bad name, every credit. Go rename your $tmp to something with main character energy. 🫶

This was perl v5.42.0, dated 2025-07-25, on page Perl::C...gueNames(3) — mwah, thanks for reading, ilysm, bye!! 💖✨🎀

📦 where this page comes from