Mattie,

Both the function name and the column names use standard abbreviations that are in the standards guide.  We've found it cuts down on the possible ways of naming a column.  For instance first name is always "first_nm" and never "first_name", "FirstName", or "FName".  The function names are a bit tougher to decode, but they're also standardized to be:

idt = application prefix (used for functions, procs, packages, tables, views, etc)

f = function, as opposed to "sp" for procedure or "pkg" for package (oracle group of related functions)

get_constant_dt = verb-noun set to describe what the object does.

The v_ indicates a local variable as opposed to a g_ for global, c_ for constant, or p_ for parameter.  In Oracle it prevents accidently re-using a variable or column name and causing very difficult to locate bugs.