"ID" or "Id" on User Interface

The QA manager where I work just informed me there is a bug in my desktop app due to the sign-on prompt being "Operator Id" when it should be "Operator ID". Her argument being that "Id" refers to the ego portion of Freud's "psychic apparatus" and is not semantically correct.

Now being an anal engineer (AE) I of course had to go and lookup Id vs ID and from my cursory investigations (google) it seems ID is just as commonly used for Freud's ego as Id is.

So my reasoning would be that Id is a shortened version of "Identifier" and is more correct or at least more commonly used than ID which would typically indicate a two word abbreviation.

I could just change the UI but then I wouldn't be holding up my profession as an AE so I was wondering if there any best practices or references for this sort of thing that I could use to support my argument? Keeping in mind that this question relates to the user interface and not the source code where abbreviations and casing are a whole different branch of philosophy.

According to Merriam-Webster, the abbreviation is "ID". If it were a correct abbreviation, it would have to be "Id." with the period.

Personally, I use "Id". The compiler doesn't care but my eyes do. Compare:

GetIDByWhatever  <-- looks terrible

GetIdByWhatever  <-- oh so pretty!

Aesthetics is more important than grammar when it comes to code, always. (Update: 4 years later, I don't stand by this statement anymore)

The 'D' doesn't stand for anything, so I've always considered it an abbreviation, not an acronym - and therefore I too use 'Id', not 'ID'.

I don't know about your qa's reasoning - words can have more than one meaning - this is not unusual in English :)

But it looks like the common usage is actually 'ID' (right or wrong :P), which is probably the format your users would expect.

As an UAUA (ultra-anal usability analyst), please use ID instead of Id.

Visually, it's more recognizable in English. Grammatically, "Id" is a word (rhymes with "squid") and the Freudian definition has been given above. We're never verbally asked to show "id", but "ID." I.D. is fine but passe, as the periods imply multiple words.

So.

Just use ID, okay?

OK.

The QA manager's line of reasoning is silly. Lots of English words have multiple meanings. "Lead", "lead", "lead" (metal, be at the front of, or a connector).

I would just try to be consistent with the capitalization used elsewhere in the app.

It's interesting that so many feel "Id" should be the way to go. I feel "ID" is appropriate because it hints at how we pronounce it -- I.D. Also, when I read "Id" in a running sentence, I sometimes have to come back and read it again just to ensure it's not a typo for "is" or "it".

So, as a technical writer, this is an issue that comes up for me quite regularly when reviewing other people's work, whether it be programmers, BAs or other writers. Typically, id refers to ego as others have said before me and the accepted abbreviation for identification is ID, just because plenty of people don't know or understand the rule doesn't mean that they are correct (sorry to be blunt), mind you the rules for punctuation and spelling to a large degree are almost as changeable as fashion!

However, what no-one seems to have asked is, does your company have a standard? At the end of the day if your company has a style guide and they have covered this topic in that guide, you should follow the guide. If it is not covered, then may I suggest that you raise the issue with the person that maintains the guide and include any stakeholders in the conversation. Consistency is key here. If the company you work for doesn't have a style guide, then perhaps it is time to start one!

Hope this helps...

I prefer Id because when used with other 2-letter text, it doesn't become a single all-caps word

Photovoltaics systems ... PVID (one word or 2?) PvId (much more clear).

User interface and code are very different beasts...

"ID" is the correct answer for a user interface.

In code, consistency is your friend. Whether you like it or not, go with what is already there elsewhere in the code. If it's not there, then read up and make a decision, or get with the team and work out a way to go that everyone can agree to. Consistency makes life so much easier.

ID = Idaho! Id = Freud! Let the OCD begin!

There is a little OcD in all of us!

Anyway, the google style guide says this:

"ID: Not Id or id, except in string literals or enums. In some contexts, best to spell out as identifier or identification."

I'm going with that.

Microsoft is more vague, from what I could find.

as a short version of Identifier, I would use Id. Also ID it's freaky when you have functions like

getUserIDByName()

Multiple capitals in domain terms are quite problematic with CamelCase, as they can produce ambiguities and therefore dishomogeneity in your interfaces and namings

How would you say it if you were reading out loud? I'd pronounce the two letters. ID is correct, analogous with similar abbreviations such as TV. (No dots, please, as the letters don't stand for anything.)

When I'm dealing with abbreviations like this, I like to format them in small block capitals, but that's just a personal taste. Capitals, anyway.

(But I probably would continue to use Id in the code itself.)

I think its depend on the way we spell. We don't spell "it", but "ai-di". Id-ID is spell by two sounds, so people make the D in cap to avoid thinking id is a "word". Its more like a character symbol. I like the "ID" more, just because it's nicer.