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Posted by Tony Marston on 07/30/06 08:24
"Jerry Stuckle" <jstucklex@attglobal.net> wrote in message
news:-o2dnUSBY-LaCFbZnZ2dnUVZ_sudnZ2d@comcast.com...
> 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.
I have worked for 25+ years with case INsensiive languages, and I cannot see
any advantages, only problems.
--
Tony Marston
http://www.tonymarston.net
http://www.radicore.org
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