---
title: Beware Homonyms
teaser:
tags: web,good code
author: Ben Orenstein
published_on: 2012-05-13
---

When you name a class, choose a name that's unlikely to refer more than one thing.

For example, `Visitor` is a bad name for a class that represents unregistered users.

The issue is that `Visitor` is the name of a well-known pattern. Like it or not, the Gang of Four claimed this one (that's why they're called a gang).

If you use this class name in a web app, I can guess which concept you're referring to, but the ambiguity is unsettling. I'm not sure. The name has **homonymatic complexity**: it sounds too much like another thing.

`UnregisteredUser` is a better name. It's easy to guess what this refers to.

However, notice the ambiguity is affected by the problem domain: in a voter registration app, this name would again be ambiguous.

In general, choose names so colleagues can easily guess an object's identity.