Why use prefixes on member variables in C++ classes

Question

A lot of C++ code uses syntactical conventions for marking up member variables. Common examples include

• m_memberName for public members (where public

Answer 1

You should never need such a prefix. If such a prefix offers you any advantage, your coding style in general needs fixing, and it's not the prefix that's keeping your code from being clear. Typical bad variable names include "other" or "2". You do not fix that with requiring it to be mOther, you fix it by getting the developer to think about what that variable is doing there in the context of that function. Perhaps he meant remoteSide, or newValue, or secondTestListener or something in that scope.

It's an effective anachronism that's still propagated too far. Stop prefixing your variables and give them proper names whose clarity reflects how long they're used. Up to 5 lines you could call it "i" without confusion; beyond 50 lines you need a pretty long name.