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Posted by Jerry Stuckle on 07/29/06 17:04
Gertjan Klein wrote:
> Shelly wrote:
>
> [Snip a lot of comments I don't disagree with]
>
>
>>If Java were not case sensitive would it still
>>work? Yes. Is it essential to the language? No. Does it bring benefits?
>>Absolutely.
>
>
> No, it does not. What you have described are conventions used in the
> case of symbols to make their "type" (constant, variable, function,
> whatever) clear. These conventions are useful for languages that have no
> other means to distinguish between these types. I've seen nobody
> disputing their usefulness. (Note that you can make a THISTHING that is
> not a constant, and a thisThing that is not a variable. The only meaning
> of the case used is in the programmer's mind.)
>
> The problem with case sensitive languages is that thisThing and
> THISTHING are entirely different. That means they can both exist at the
> same time. This can lead to problems in the hands of sloppy or c00l
> programmers. I see no benefit in having two "things" with the exact same
> name, differing only in case, meaning two entirely different things.
>
> Gertjan.
Gee, a and b can exist at the same time, as can x and y.
thisThing and THISTHING are two different variable names - and can exist
at the same time.
And yes, it's a problem to sloppy programmers.
And there are definite benefits. For instance, "Customer" can be a
class, while "customer" an object of that class. And CUSTOMER is a
defined value. Three different identifiers meaning three different things.
But if you're never worked on a multi-programmer project in a case
sensitive language you may not understand the benefits.
--
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Remove the "x" from my email address
Jerry Stuckle
JDS Computer Training Corp.
jstucklex@attglobal.net
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