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

[Mike Fletcher]

Luckily, I'm not an engineer :) .  The biting I was referring to was typing
a variable with a different case by mistake (which, if a recall correctly,
was the primary problem with the Alice group).  On the other hand, if we do
not expect that anyone will ever use different cases, then why would we
allow it (thereby reducing the number of available "appropriate" variables)?
If we allow case insensitivity, we will get code which uses case
insensitivity.  I can't speak for engineers, but if it be sin to have
inconsistent case, then loose your Palm-Pilot rosary-simulation when using a
case insensitive language :) .

Oh, no need to hack Guido's computer, the real target is, and, barring
significant paradoxes, always will be (has been, is becoming, might be) the
time machine... all code flows from the past...

Enjoy yourselves,
Mike


-----Original Message-----
From: Courageous [mailto:jkraska1 at san.rr.com]
Sent: Sunday, May 21, 2000 12:40 AM
To: python-list at python.org
Subject: Re: Case-sensitivity: why -- or why not? (was Re: Damnation!)


Mike Fletcher wrote:
> 
> Personally, I have been bit by case problems probably five or six times
(in
> five years or so).  That said, I find working with case insensitive
> languages difficult to the point where I will not use them.


The truth of the matter is that, irrespective of whether or
not a language is case sensitive or not, using inconsistent
case for the same thing is an extraordinarily bad idea, and
would be extremely poor engineering practice.

There are very few times where as a lead I exercise authority
over influence, but I have to admit that I simply wouldn't
allow programmers on my team (and probably not on our staff,
sirrah) to use inconsistent case for something.

So I guess it's not so much that case matters to the compiler,
but rather that the case matters to PEOPLE.

I guess we can all threaten to rebel, hack into Guido's personal
computer, and replace all his own personal python code with
randomized capitalization of everything....


*MUHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA*

:)-

C/
-- 
http://www.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list