B

Naming Conventions

This appendix provides suggestions for the naming of variables and other database objects. The suggested standards are based on the Leszynski Naming Conventions (LNC) for Microsoft Access. If you want more information about these standards or want to obtain the full copy provided by Kwery Corporation, contact Kwery via the order line at 1-800-ATKWERY or on the product information line at 206-644-7830. Kwery can also be reached via CompuServe at 71573,3261 or via fax at 206-644-8409.

When creating variable names, it is important for you to make the type and intended use of each variable clear and self-documenting. Here are a few rules to follow:

Remember to always make variable names mixed case, with each word or abbreviation within the variable name capitalized.
Do not use underscore characters in your variable names.
Abbreviate variables names only when it is necessary.
Make the beginning of each variable name describe the type of data it contains.

Adherence to these conventions will go a long way toward keeping your code concise and readable. Table B.1 recommends prefixes for Access object tags.

Table B.1. Access object-naming conventions.

*Prefix*	*Control Type*	*Example*
app	Application	appInfoBase
chk	CheckBox	chkReadOnly
cbo	ComboBox	cboLanguages
cmd	CommandButton	cmdRefreshTable
ctl	Control	ctlAny
ctls	Controls	ctlsAll
ocx	CustomControl	ocxCalendar
dcm	DoCmd	dcmOpenForm
frm	Form	frmDataEntryView
frms	Forms	frmsClientsAndOrders
img	Image	imgHeadShot
lbl	Label	lblShowAllCheckBox
lin	Line	linDivider
lst	ListBox	lstLastTenSites
bas	Module	basErrorControl
ole	ObjectFrame	oleWorksheet
opt	OptionButton	optReadOnly
fra	OptionGroup (frame)	fraColorSchemes
brk	PageBreak	brkTopOfForm
pal	PaletteButton	palBackgroundColor
prps	Properties	prpsActiveForm
shp	Rectangle	shpHidableFrame
rpt	Report	rptOrders
rpts	Reports	rptsTodaysChanges
scr	Screen	scrSecondSplashScreen
sec	Section	secOrderDetail
fsub	Subform	fsubBillableHours
rsub	SubReport	rsubTopFiveSales
txt	TextBox	txtAdditionalNotes
tgl	ToggleButton	tglShowFormatting

Table B.2 provides prefix tags for standard variable types, as well as the storage space required by each.

Table B.2. Standard variable data type prefixes.

*Prefix*	*Data Type*	*Storage*	*Example*
byt	Byte	1 byte	byteArray
f	Boolean	2 bytes	fSecurityClear
int	Integer	2 bytes	intLoop
lng	Long	4 bytes	lngEnv
sng	Single	4 bytes	sngValue
dbl	Double	8 bytes	dblValue
cur	Currency	8 bytes	curCostPerUnit
dat	Date and Time	8 bytes	datStartTime
obj	Object	varies	objActiveObject
str	String	1 byte per character	strFirstName
stf	String (fixed length)	10 bytes + 1 byte per char	stfSocNumber
var	Variant	16 bytes + 1 byte per char	varInput

The Jet Database engine utilizes objects that you might need to refer to in VBA code. Table B.3 lists the DAO object types and their standard naming prefixes.

Table B.3. Jet object/collection prefixes.

*Prefix*	*Object Type*
cnt	Container
cnts	Containers
db	Database
dbs	Databases
dbe	DBEngine
doc	Document
docs	Documents
err	Error
errs	Errors
fld	Field
flds	Fields
grp	Group
grps	Groups
idx	Index
idxs	Indexes
prm	Parameter
prms	Parameters
pdbe	PrivDBEngine
prp	Property
prps	Properties
qry (or qdf)	QueryDef
qrys (or qdfs)	QueryDefs
rst	Recordset
rsts	Recordsets
rel	Relation
rels	Relations
tbl (or tdf)	TableDef
tbls (or tdfs)	TableDefs
usr	User
usrs	Users
wrk	Workspace
wrks	Workspaces

In addition to the standard notations for variables, there are variable notations for scope and lifetime. These should be placed at the beginning of the variable, before any other prefix. Table B.4 lists the scope and lifetime prefixes.

Table B.4. Prefixes for scope and lifetime.

*Prefix*	*Description*
(none)	Local variable, procedure-level lifetime
s	Local variable, program-level lifetime (static variable)
m	Private (module) variable, program-level lifetime
g	Public (global) variable, program-level lifetime

Table B.5 provides general naming convention tags for the Database window objects.

Table B.5. Tags for Database window objects.

*Prefix*	*Object Type*
tbl	Table
qry	Query
frm	Form
rpt	Report
mcr	Macro
bas	Module

There are two sets of naming conventions you can use when naming specific Database window objects: Either use the prefix for the general object prefix from the table or supply one of the more descriptive tags listed in Table B.6.

Table B.6. Tags for specific Database window objects.

*Prefix*	*Suffix*	*Object Type*
tlkp	Lookup	Table (lookup)
qsel	(none)	Query (select)
qapp	Append	Query (append)
qxtb	XTab	Query (crosstab)
qddl	DDL	Query (DDL)
qdel	Delete	Query (delete)
qflt	Filter	Query (filter)
qlkp	Lookup	Query (lookup)
qmak	MakeTable	Query (make table)
qspt	PassThru	Query (SQL pass-through)
qtot	Totals	Query (totals)
quni	Union	Query (union)
qupd	Update	Query (update)
fdlg	Dlg	Form (dialog)
fmnu	Mnu	Form (menu)
fmsg	Msg	Form (message)
fsfr	Subform	Form (subform)
rsrp	SubReport	Form (subreport)
mmnu	Mnu	Macro (menu)