Case insensitivity

[Paul Sidorsky]

Michael Ströder wrote:

> But case-sensitive mode should be the default. Beginners mode should
> have to be turned on by command-line option.

If you mean a command line option in Python, then all I can say is
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!"  To me such a thing would just push Python closer to
C/C++, where working with compiler switches almost constitutes learning
a second language in and of itself.  The ability to type in simply
"python myprog.py" for just about every program and have it run is
something that should not be sacrificed for any price, I think.

I have concerns about the existence of options like -U and even -O which
have the potential to jeopardize this simplicity.  So I think adding an
option for case-sensitivity would surely destroy the "ease of execution"
for good.  If such an option were added it wouldn't take long for
thousands of lines of case-insensitive code to be distributed.  Soon any
time anybody wanted to post code on here they'd have to specify whether
or not it has to be compiled with case-sensitivity turned on.

Case-insensitivity isn't necessarily a bad idea but I think if it's
going to be done a more concrete solution needs to be found.  A command
line option just sounds like a quick-fix idea to me.

Hmmmmmm...how about:

from __alternativestyles__ import caseinsensitivity

Anybody who has the patience to type that in at the start of every
program is automatically qualified to use case-insensitivity in my book,
because I'd be the first to flunk this test.  :-)

-- 
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Paul Sidorsky                                          Calgary, Canada
paulsid at home.com                      http://members.home.net/paulsid/