Naming classes and objects

When you create a new class file, use the following guidelines when you name the class and ActionScript file. For proper formatting, see the following examples of class names:

class Widget;
class PlasticWidget;
class StreamingVideo;

You might have public and private member variables in a class. The class can contain variables that you do not want users to set or access directly. Make these variables private and allow users to access the values only by using getter/setter methods.

The following guidelines apply to naming classes:

Begin a class name with an uppercase letter.
Write class names in mixed case when it's a compound or concatenated word.
Begin with an uppercase letter for a compound or concatenated word. A good example is NewMember.
Class names are usually nouns or qualified nouns.
A qualifier describes the noun or phrase. For example, instead of "member," you might qualify the noun by using NewMember or OldMember.
Clear names are more important than short names.
Don't use acronyms and abbreviations.
The exception to this rule is if acronyms or abbreviations represent the standard way to use a term (such as HTML or CFM). For commonly used acronyms, use mixed cases such as NewHtmlParser instead of NewHTMLParser for improved readability.
Use meaningful and simple names that are descriptive of the class contents.
To avoid being vague or misleading, use generic names.
Sometimes a class name is a compound word.
A qualifier might describe the noun or phrase. For example, instead of "member," you might qualify the noun using NewMember or OldMember.
Do not pluralize the words you use in the class name (such as Witches or BaldPirates).
In most cases, it is better to leave the words as qualified nouns instead. A qualifier describes the noun or phrase. For example, instead of "cat" or "buckaneer," you might qualify the noun by using BlackCat or OldBuckaneer.
Don't use a class name in the properties of that class because it causes redundancy.
For example, it does not make sense to have Cat.catWhiskers. Instead, Cat.whiskers is much better.
Don't use nouns that also might be interpreted as verbs.
For example, Running, or Gardening. Using these nouns might lead to confusion with methods, states, or other application activities.
Use unique class names for each class in a single application.
Do not name classes so that they conflict with the names of built-in classes in Flash.
Try to communicate the relationship that a class has within a hierarchy.
This helps display a class's relationship within an application. For example, you might have the Widget interface, and the implementation of Widget might be PlasticWidget, SteelWidget, and SmallWidget.

For information on interfaces, see Interfaces.

Flash CS3