CamelCase: Compound (linguistics), Whitespace (computer science), Capitalization, Patti LaBelle, Visual Basic, MacGyver, IPod, Chemical formula, Naming ... Programming language, Marketing

CamelCase (also spelled "camel case") or medial capitals is the practice of writing compound words or phrases in which the elements are joined without spaces, with each element's initial letter capitalized within the compound, and the first letter can be upper or lower case ? as in LaBelle, BackColor, MacGyver, or iPod. The name comes from the uppercase "bumps" in the middle of the compound word, suggestive of the humps of a camel. The practice is known by many other names. An early systematic use of medial capitals is the standard notation for chemical formulas, such as NaCl, that has been widely used since the 19th century. In the 1970s, medial capitals became an alternative (and often standard) identifier naming convention for several programming languages. Since the 1980s, following the popularization of computer technology, it has become fashionable in marketing for names of products and companies. However, medial capitals are rarely used in formal written English, and most style guides recommend against their use.