Case Sensitive, Multiline Comments

[Magnus Lycka]

Terry Reedy wrote:
> Difference annoyances for different folks, I guess.

IN MY EXPERIENCE, MANY PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET ARE
ANNOYED BY PEOPLE WHO DON'T USE CASE THE WAY THEY
ARE EXPECTED. IT ALSO SEEMS TO ME THAT LOWER CASE
TEXT IS OFTEN MORE EASY TO READ, AND ALSO THAT IT
IS EASIER TO SCAN TEXTS IF CASE IS CONSISTENT. WE
DO AFTER ALL SEE IMAGES ON THE SCREEN. EVEN IF WE
RELATE "IF" WITH "if",  THEY DON'T LOOK THE SAME.
MY SON POINTED AT THE WORD "TOYOTA" IN A MAGAZINE
AND EXCLAIMED "TOTOTA" WHEN HE WAS ONLY THREE. HE
WAS CLEARLY TOO YOUNG TO READ,  BUT HE RECOGNIZED
THE IMAGE OF THE LOGO HE HAD SEEN ON OLD TOYOTAS.
IN GENERAL,  PYTHON "TRIES" TO FORCE A PARTICULAR
STYLE OF CODING ON PROGRAMMERS. WE HAVE TO INDENT
IN A PARTICULAR WAY. THE STYLE OF PROGRAMMING HAS
BEEN CODIFIED IN PEP 008,  AND COWBOY PROGRAMMING
ISN'T REALLY APPRECIATED.  YOU ARE NOT "SUPPOSED"
TO PROGRAM PYTHON "YOUR WAY". YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO
PROGRAM THE RIGHT WAY. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT, IT
IS PROBABLY BETTER TO USE ANOTHER LANGUAGE.  PERL
IS MORE OF A COWBOY LANUGAGE.  THE FUNNY THING IS
THAT EVEN PERL IS CASE SENSITIVE! EXPLAIN THAT!!!
IMO IT'S A STRENGTH OF PYTHON THAT PYTHON CODE IS
ALWAYS CONSISTENT IN CASE. IT IS PROBABLY A MINOR
FEATURE COMPARED TO THE BLOCK STRUCTURES ETC, BUT
I THINK IT ADDS TO THE EASE OF READING CODE WHICH
HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY OTHERS. I DO ALSO DISLIKE THE
ALTERNATIVES.  NEITHER CODE WITH INCONSISTENT USE
OF CASE NOR THE STUPID "CASE CORRECTING" FEATURES
IN E.G. THE VISUAL BASIC IDE SEEMS TO BE ANYTHING
TO STRIVE FOR.  IF YOU THOUGHT IT WAS ANNOYING TO
READ THIS,  THEN YOU CAN AT LEAST APPRECIATE THAT
PYTHON CODE NEVER LOOKS LIKE SUCH A COMPACT BLOB!

Who am I kidding with this? Everybody knows that
case doesn't matter, right? The text below isn't
a bit easier to read than the text above, right?

In my experience, many people on the internet are
annoyed by people who don't use case the way they
are expected. It also seems to me that lower case
text is often more easy to read, and also that it
is easier to scan texts if case is consistent. We
do after all see images on the screen. Even if we
relate "IF" with "if",  they don't look the same.
My son pointed at the word "TOYOTA" in a magazine
and exclaimed "Totota" when he was only three. He
was clearly too young to read,  but he recognized
the image of the logo he had seen on old toyotas.
In general,  Python "tries" to force a particular
style of coding on programmers. We have to indent
in a particular way. The style of programming has
been codified in PEP 008,  and cowboy programming
isn't really appreciated.  You are not "supposed"
to program Python "your way". You are supposed to
program the right way. If you don't like that, it
is probably better to use another language.  Perl
is more of a cowboy lanugage.  The funny thing is
that even Perl is case sensitive! Explain that!!!
IMO it's a strength of Python that Python code is
always consistent in case. It is probably a minor
feature compared to the block structures etc, but
I think it adds to the ease of reading code which
has been written by others. I do also dislike the
alternatives.  Neither code with inconsistent use
of case nor the stupid "case correcting" features
in e.g. the Visual Basic IDE seems to be anything
to strive for.  If you thought it was annoying to
read this,  then you can at least appreciate that
Python code never looks like such a compact blob!

oF cOuRsE, wE sHoUlDn'T aSsUmE tHaT pEoPlE wIlL
aBuSe ThE fReEdOm ThEy GeT, bUt I'm RaThEr SaFe
ThAn SoRrY! ;^) I'm ReAlLy hApPy ThAt I'lL nEvEr
HaVe To SeE aLl-CaPs PyThOn PrOgRaMs!