Chapter 1

The fundamental rule is, use names to convey meaning. Don't abbreviate too much (use real
English), but don't make names too long and unwieldy. Another basic rule is that application
programming interfaces (APIs) use American English spelling. American English is the
international language of APIs, so expect to see Color, Center, Gray and Synchronize
rather than Colour, Centre, Grey and Synchronise.
3.2.1 Class Names
Classes use an initial letter to indicate the basic properties of the class. The main ones are
as follows:
Category Examples Description
T classes, types TDesC, TPoint,
TFileName
C classes CConsoleBase, CActive,
CBase
R classes RFile, RTimer,
RWriteStream, RWindow
M classes, interfaces MGraphicsDevice-
Map,MGameViewCmd-
Handler,
MEikMenuObserver
T classes don't have a
destructor. They act like
built-in types. That's why the
typedefs for all built-in
types begin with T. T
classes can be allocated as
automatics (if they're not too
big), as members of other
classes, or on the heap.
Any class derived from
CBase. C classes are
always allocated on the
default heap.CBase's
operator new()
initializes all member data to
zero when an object is
allocated. CBase also
includes a virtual destructor,
so that by calling delete
on a CBase* pointer any C
object it points to is properly
destroyed.
Any class that owns
resources other than on the
default heap.Usually
allocated as member
variables or automatics; in a
few cases, can be allocated
on the default heap. Most R
classes use Close() to
free their associated
resources.
An interface consisting of
pure virtual functions and
with no member data. A
class implementing this
interface should derive from
it. M classes are the only
approved use of multiple