singular or plural on models controllers?

Question

if i've got a thread model and controller.

should that be in singular or plural for both the model and controller?

i could show a thread and also list threads.

dont know what i should use.

$thread->get_lists(); // doesnt sound good
$threads->show(); // doesnt sound good

Answer 1

It doesn't matter.

I personally use singular for models and plural for controllers.

What matters, however, is that you pick a scheme and be consistent.

Answer 2

That depends on the model. If objects of that class represent exactly one thing, use singular, if they represent many things, use plural (but you usually do not need such a class, use an array/a collection). Both cannot happen or you should redesign (1).

I'll use your Thread example:

If every object models one thread, name the class "Thread". If it models several threads at once, call it "Threads" (or "ThreadCollection" or the like).

(1) If you need both, a representation of a single thread and a representation of many threads at once, use two distinct classes (Thread and Threads) or create an array or a collection for the latter. Then you'll have it clean: $thread->show(); $threads->list();