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Name before type: why 'age int' is better than 'int age'
(benhoyt.com)
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this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2026
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This doesn't matter so so much that I don't even have the words for it
The word is bikeshedding.
It's only bike shedding if the people arguing over it don't know enough about the topic to actually make cohesive arguments.
Things like how we name things and the grammar we use are quite important in cognitive psychology. And we can take advantage of research into cognitive psychology to better improve how we write software.
I can never remember which one's bikeshedding and which one is yak shaving... but yeah!
Not a term I was aware of. Thanks!
There was a pub in my town called the Bike Shed. I spent many happy hours there in futile discussions of marginal technical issues.
Alas, they're now gone, I no longer drink alcohol, and the people I bikeshedded with have either died or moved away. I still occasionally shave a yak at work, though. Sometimes doing so is a necessary evil.
It does kiiiiinnnnda matter, but I just don't care and it doesn't affect me. Problem solving and remaining mentally flexible and able to switch gears is just kind of part of the field. But yeah, it feels like the "tabs or spaces" thing, in that, I have a preference, but I'm so used to encountering way, way dumber and worse bs that I don't even care about tabs v spaces.
The choice doesn't matter - consistency does a bit.