claude-code-vba-skills: Skill for Claude Code

VBA Naming, Types & Data Management — Expanded Edition

Clear, consistent naming and strong typing are the backbone of reliable VBA applications.

Purpose

Improved correctness, maintainability, and readability by applying unified naming patterns and predictable data structures.

Naming Best Practices

Procedures

• Use verbs for Subs: LoadData, ExportReport, ValidateInputs.
• Use value-returning names for Functions: GetLastRow, IsCustomerValid.

Variables

Use names that express: what, not how.

Dim reportDate As Date
Dim customerTotal As Currency
Dim pendingInvoices As Collection

Avoid vague terms:

Dim tmp, x, data1 ' BAD

Constants

Private Const CONFIG_SHEET As String = "Config"
Private Const HEADER_ROW As Long = 1

Type Best Practices

Good defaults

• Long for counters and row indexes.
• Date for dates.
• Currency for money.
• Double for scientific/decimal work.
• Boolean for flags.

Enums

Replace magic numbers:

Public Enum ReportType
    rptSummary = 1
    rptDetail = 2
End Enum

User-Defined Types

Lightweight structured groups:

Private Type TRangeBounds
    FirstRow As Long
    LastRow As Long
End Type

Collections & Dictionaries

Use dictionaries for keyed access.

Dim dict As Object
Set dict = CreateObject("Scripting.Dictionary")

Do / Don't

Do

• Use descriptive variable names.
• Use Enums instead of numbers.
• Use concrete types to avoid runtime errors.

Don’t

• Use Variant when you know the type.
• Mix naming conventions arbitrarily.
• Store “Y/N” as strings instead of Boolean.

Acceptance Checklist

• No meaningless variable names.
• All numeric codes replaced by Enums.
• Data grouped logically using Type or classes.