All C++ variables must be identified with unique names .
These unique names are called identifiers .
Identifiers can be short names (like x and y) or more descriptive names (age, sum, totalVolume).
Note
It is recommended to use descriptive names in order to create understandable and maintainable code:
// Good int minutesPerHour = 60; // OK, but not so easy to understand what m actually is int m = 60;The general rules for naming variables are:
- Names can contain letters, digits and underscores
- Names must begin with a letter or an underscore (_)
- Names are case-sensitive ( myVar and myvar are different variables)
- Names cannot contain whitespaces or special characters like !, #, %, etc.
- Reserved words (like C++ keywords, such as int ) cannot be used as names