Choosing Identifiers

Choosing the right identifiers can make a source file easy to read and understand. The following suggestions can help make your logic descriptions self-explanatory, eliminating the need for extensive documentation.

Choose identifiers that match their function. For example, the pin you're going to use as the carry-in on an adder could be named Carry_In. For a simple OR gate, the two input pins might be given the identifiers IN1 and IN2, and the output might be named OR.

Avoid large numbers of similar identifiers. For example, do not name the outputs of a 16 bit adder: ADDER_OUTPUT_BIT_1 ADDER_OUTPUT_BIT_2 and so on.

Use underscores or mixed-case characters to separate words in your identifier.

THIS_IS_AN_IDENTIFIER
ThisIsAnIdentifier

are much easier to read than

THISISANIDENTIFIER