bcquality/microsoft/knowledge/style/temporary-variable-temp-prefix.md

bc-version	domain	keywords	technologies	countries	application-area
all	style	temporary temp prefix record-variable naming	al	w1	all

Prefix temporary record variables with Temp

Description

A Record variable declared with the temporary modifier behaves nothing like a normal record variable: it never touches the database, holds rows only for the lifetime of the variable, and is not visible to filters or queries on the underlying table. The BC convention is to make that difference visible at every call site by prefixing the variable name with Temp — TempJobWIPBuffer, TempSalesLine, TempIntegerBuffer. The convention is load-bearing for code review: when a reader sees SalesLine.Insert(), they expect a database write; when they see TempSalesLine.Insert(), they know it is an in-memory buffer.

Best Practice

Every local or global variable of type Record X temporary must start with Temp. Ordinary procedure parameters follow the same convention. Event publisher parameters are owned by the events-domain rule prefix-temporary-record-event-parameters-with-temp.md; the style leaf must not emit a second finding for the same event parameter.

See sample: temporary-variable-temp-prefix.good.al.

Anti Pattern

WIPBuffer: Record "Job WIP Buffer" temporary; as a local, global, or ordinary procedure parameter reads at the call site as if it were a database operation. Exclude event publisher parameters here so the events leaf remains their single owner.

See sample: temporary-variable-temp-prefix.bad.al.