That's exactly my point. I did not offer MaximumPhysicalAddress originally as an alternative, because as you said it is not really any less ambiguous in this

That's exactly my point. I did not offer MaximumPhysicalAddress originally as an alternative, because as you said it is not really any less ambiguous in this case. However, a new programmer approaching the codebase still has to remember WHICH words are abbreviated and which variables rely on which abbreviations. Since MaxPhysAddr is already 11 characters long, and I can type MaximumPhysicalAddress in almost exactly the same amount of time (the overhead is essentially negligible) I see no benefit to using the abbreviated form. One must remember that maxphysaddr actually carries MORE information than MaximumPhysicalAddress, specifying that the words are all abbreviated. One can argue that the abbreviations used are conventional, but if the convention is not already known then the information required is even greater. That information is not relevant to the variable's function, and thus adds an unnecessary burden to the programmer. IMHO. But, again, it is not a good example, and I do not have a suggestion for an alternative.