As a curator and a coder, I know it is essential to use naming conventions. It is important to employ a consistent approach when naming digital files or software components such as modules or variables. However, when a student assistant asked me recently why it was important not to use spaces in our image file names, I struggled to come up with an answer. “Because I said so,” while tempting, is not really an acceptable response. Why, in fact, is this important? For this blog entry, I set out to answer this question and to see if, along the way, I could develop an “elevator pitch” – a short spiel on the reasoning behind file naming conventions.
