When writing software, we like our code to be clean, simple, and concise. But that loses something, you end up writing just some code, and not The Code. Mads's co-worker wanted to make his code more definite by using this variable naming convention:

public static void addToListInMap(final Map theMap, final String theKey, final Object theValue) {
	List theList = (List) theMap.get(theKey);
	if (theList == null) {
		theList = new ArrayList();
		theMap.put(theKey, theList);
	}
	theList.add(theValue);
}

This Java code clearly is eschewing generic types, which is its own problem, and I also have to raise concerns about a map of lists; I don't know what that structure is for, but there's almost certainly a better way to do it.

But of course, that's not why we're here. We're here to look at the variable names. This developer did this all the time, a bizarre version of Hungarian notation. Did the developer attend The Ohio State? (Since all jokes are funnier when you explain them, Ohio State insists on being referred to with the definite article, which sounds weird, and yes, that's not the weirdest thing about American Football, but it's weird).

I worry about what happens when one function takes in two maps or two keys? theKey and theOtherKey? Or do they get demoted to aKey and anotherKey?

But I am left wondering: what is theValue of this convention?

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