[wladimir]

I'm not sure what you're referring to, but in all instances of Hungarian notation I've seen (especially in Windows programs) it was the data type (pointer to char, 8 bit int, 32 bit int etc) encoded and not "the nature of the thing".

I agree that adding the "nature of the thing being counted" makes sense, but then you don't have to call it Hungarian notation anymore, "number_of_apples" is just a sensible variable name...

[djpowell]

Joel Spolsky wrote a good summary about the Hungarian notation, and how it got corrupted within Microsoft:

http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/Wrong.html

[wladimir]

Thanks for the explanation. The original idea was pretty good. But I've only, ever, seen the corrupted variant in the wild. And coding standards that enforce it. Hence my annoyance.

[antidoh]

Yeah, Hungarian Notation may have flowered in the Councils of Elrond, the mere sound of which would give men Knowledge, Wisdom and inflation-adjusted semi-annual raises, but out here on the edge of Mordor it's been horribly twisted into something only an Orc could love and look upon. If an Orc could love.