Convert any phrase into dot.case — all lowercase, words joined by dots. Common in config keys, namespaced identifiers, and i18n translation keys.
User Profile Background Color → user.profile.background.color
dot.case is a naming convention where words are written in lowercase and joined by dots. It's used heavily for hierarchical configuration keys, internationalisation translation keys, and any context where the dot communicates a logical grouping.
Unlike snake_case or kebab-case, the dots in dot.case usually carry semantic meaning — they signal namespace or hierarchy boundaries, not just word separators.
nav.home.label, checkout.cart.empty.message, errors.validation.email. Translation libraries (i18next, vue-i18n, react-intl) use dot-separated keys to navigate a nested translation object.
Spring Boot's application.properties, log4j config, and many older Unix tools use dot.case for hierarchical configuration: spring.datasource.url, logging.level.root.
RBAC and ABAC systems often encode permissions as dot.case strings: user.read, billing.invoice.write, admin.users.delete. The dots make the hierarchy obvious.
Mixpanel, Segment, and similar analytics tools commonly use dot.case event names: user.signed_up, checkout.completed, video.playback.started.
Reverse-DNS package naming uses dot.case: com.example.app, org.apache.commons. Java, Android, and macOS bundle identifiers all rely on this convention.
They're often interchangeable for hierarchical paths. Dots are more common for in-code identifiers and config keys; slashes are more common for filesystem paths and URL segments. Choose based on context, not either-or.
Yes — most languages use dots for property access (obj.prop), so dot.case is for strings, not identifiers. Use it as the value of a string variable, not as the variable name itself.
The converter strips them. ".user.name." becomes "user.name". If you need the leading dot for a relative-path or hidden-file convention, add it back manually.
Possible but unusual — most operating systems treat the last dot as the extension separator, so my.config.file.json is interpreted as a JSON file named my.config.file. Use kebab-case for filenames unless your tool explicitly expects dots.