Java naming convention for boolean variable names: writerEnabled vs writerIsEnabled

Question

Which of the following declarations conforms to Java's naming conventions?

private boolean writerIsEnabled;
// with methods like
public boolean getWriterIsEnabled() 
public void setWriterIsEnabled()

OR

private boolean writerEnabled;
// with methods like
public boolean getWriterEnabled() 
public void setWriterEnabled()

I personally find the first name "writerIsEnabled" to be more readable, especially when you use it in an if statement like this -

if(writerIsEnabled)
 {
    //...
 } 

Answer 1

As far as I know, it's this way:

private boolean writerEnabled;
// with methods like
public boolean isWriterEnabled();
public void setWriterEnabled(boolean enabled);

Either when the type is boolean or Boolean, the difference is that the Getter starts with is instead of get.

Personally I prefer the isWriterEnabled approach. Technologies like, for example, JSF respect that standard when accessing properties. The EL expressions are acknowledged with is and get.

Answer 2

If this is in a writer class, you'd probably want to remove the Writer from your variable.

I would typically not use Is in my field names, but would in the methods.

Something like this:

private boolean writerEnabled;

public boolean isWriterEnabled();
public void setWriterEnabled(boolean enabled);

Although this is my personal naming convention, you should probably talk with any others who you're working with, to see what they would use.