4.3.5 The Number of Significant Initial Characters in an Identifier

At least the first 255 characters in an identifier (internal and external) are significant. This includes the requirement of the ANSI C Standard that states a lower number of significant characters are used to identify an object.

Example

The following example shows two poorly named variables, but names which are considered unique under the CCI.

int stateOfPortBWhenTheOperatorHasSelectedAutomaticModeAndMotorIsRunningFast;

int stateOfPortBWhenTheOperatorHasSelectedAutomaticModeAndMotorIsRunningSlow;

Differences

Former 8-bit compilers used 31 significant characters by default, but an option allowed this to be extended.

The 16- and 32-bit compilers did not impose a limit on the number of significant characters.

Migration to the CCI

No action required. You can take advantage of the less restrictive naming scheme.