Case-sensitivity: why -- or why not? (was Re: Damnation!)

[Tim Peters]

[Les Schaffer, possibly not in favor of case-insensitivity]
> ...
> i can only venture a guess as to why things are headed this
> way. Everyone who codes smells money, IPO money. So they figure if
> they can twiddle their language to meet the masses, the unwashed
> masses who can't learn case-sensitivity, OR SO THE EXPERTS TELL US,
> then there is a fortune to be made.
>
> Absurd notion, right?
>
> But consider this, if python weren't suddenly (maybe thats the wrong
> word) emerging as an excellent scripting language at a time when IPO
> mania was at its peak (well maybe slightly post peak now), would we be
> having these "in-depth" discussions about the optimization of the
> langauge via case-insensivity based on towering arguments like 1. and
> 2. above?
>
> Anyway, tahts as absurd as i can get. i just can't think of any other
> reason why the language and newsgroup has to waste its time with a
> discussion on case-sensitivity.

Les, Guido has been talking about this for *years*.  I don't know why c.l.py
never noticed before, but it was an old topic long before this thread began.
Over most of that period of time, Guido has been employed by the non-profit
CNRI; it's unclear even to me what his job there actually is, but it appears
to be writing DARPA grant proposals <0.9 wink>, and AFAIK not even the
Clinton administration is funding a National Case Insensitivity Initiative.

I think the evidence that making Python case-insensitive will actually help
anyone is extraordinarily weak, but note that Guido hasn't *done* anything
about this for years either.  The Alice project thought it important enough
that they actually changed their version of Python to ignore case, and in a
world of weary Usenet debates (i.e., lots of talk, lots of froth, no
consensus), that spoke very loudly to Guido.

He'll do what he thinks best.  I may have to punch him in the throat to get
his attention on this one, but violence before its time is
counter-productive.

ideas-are-not-crimes-ly y'rs  - tim