Choose semantically clear identifiers

Select parameter and method names that accurately describe their purpose and behavior, avoiding ambiguous terms that can lead to confusion. Consider these guidelines:

1. Use descriptive names that reflect the actual behavior:

   // AVOID: Parameter name doesn't clearly indicate truncation behavior
   pub fn truncate(&mut self, max_len: usize, stride: usize, left: bool) {
      // ...
   }
      
   // BETTER: Use an enum with meaningful names
   pub fn truncate(&mut self, max_len: usize, stride: usize, direction: TruncationDirection) {
      // ...
   }
   

2. Follow language-specific naming conventions:
   • In Python interfaces, use lowercase for enum values ("first" instead of "First")
   • In Rust, avoid leading underscores for public functions (from_string not _from_string)
3. Choose names that prevent confusion between related but different concepts:

   // AVOID: Similar method names with different behaviors
   fn add_tokens(&mut self) { /* ... */ }
   fn num_added_tokens(&self) { /* ... */ }
      
   // BETTER: Clear distinction in naming
   fn add_tokens(&mut self) { /* ... */ }
   fn num_special_tokens_to_add(&self) { /* ... */ }
   

When choosing identifiers, always ask: “Would another developer immediately understand what this name represents without looking at its implementation?”