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Posted by Tony Marston on 11/11/83 11:54
"Jerry Stuckle" <jstucklex@attglobal.net> wrote in message
news:PO-dnZ9kL4xhvFPZnZ2dnUVZ_vKdnZ2d@comcast.com...
> Tony Marston wrote:
>> "Jerry Stuckle" <jstucklex@attglobal.net> wrote in message
>> news:Fs6dnZzOr4BKU1HZnZ2dnUVZ_vydnZ2d@comcast.com...
>>
>>>Tony Marston wrote:
>>>
>>>>"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.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>And I have worked almost 40 years in case INsensitive languages, and
>>>almost 25 years in case SEnsitive languages. I see a definite advantage,
>>>and fewer problems.
>>
>>
>> Can you identify any problem where case sensitivity is the only solution?
>> Are you not aware of the problems which case sensitivty can cause?
>>
>
> No, because you have never identified any problems caused by case
> sensitivity - despite many people asking you about them.
Case sensitivity can lead to unmaintainable code. For example, if there is a
variable called $foo I expect $Foo and $FOO to mean the same thing, not
different things. The fact that they are not can lead to unexpected results.
Programmers who deliberately create different variables with the same name
but different case are bad programmers, but a *proper* language (such as
COBOL) removes the possibility for such bad programming by ignoring case and
treating all the variables as a single variable. Any language which
deliberately allows programmers to wrte unmaintainable code is a bad
language. After all, that is why most modern languages do not include GOTO
because f the problems it can cause.
--
Tony Marston
http://www.tonymarston.net
http://www.radicore.org
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