Cross-Language Review Heuristics

Overview

Some code review signals transcend language syntax. The same structural problems produce the same categories of bugs, maintenance burden, and security risk across all languages.

Universal heuristics are distinct from language-specific idioms. This skill teaches what is structurally problematic in any ecosystem — use it as the first pass, then load the language-specific skill for fine-grained calibration.

Naming Clarity

Clear naming is the lowest-cost form of documentation.

Thresholds

Single-character variables acceptable only in tight loops (i, j, k; n for count; x, y for coordinates). Flag at LOW otherwise.

Abbreviations require a project glossary or are limited to universal ones (id, url, err, ctx, msg). Flag inconsistent or undocumented abbreviations at LOW.

Boolean naming must use an assertion prefix: is, has, should, can, was, needs. Flag ambiguous booleans (active, loading) at LOW.