|
|
Posted by Kimmo Laine on 12/23/05 11:43
<tony@marston-home.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1135328348.078891.300880@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
> Jerry Stuckle wrote:
>> tony@marston-home.demon.co.uk wrote:
>> >>>What I object to is being told that I MUST use one case or the other
>> >>>just to be
>> >>>*consistent* with everyone else, especially when I disagree with their
>> >>>reason for choosing one case over the other in the first place.
>> >
>> >>The majority of programmers disagree with you on this. Consistency
>> >>and conventions are preferred when working on a particular project or
>> >>platform -- it cuts down on errors and allows one to convey greater
>> >>meaning.
>> >
>> > I disagree. The majority of programmers that I have worked with on
>> > case-insensitive languages do NOT like being told that case is suddenly
>> > important, that you must use one in preference to the other. It is like
>> > saying that although the language allows you to do something either
>> > *this* way or *that* way from now on everybody MUST do it *that* way
>> > for no other reason than to be consistent.
>> >
>>
>> He didn't say "The majority of programmers that you have worked with on
>> > case-insensitive languages".
>>
>> He said "The majority of programmers" - a much larger group. And I have
>> to agree with him.
>>
>> I've also taught C, C++ and Java to COBOL programmers. Sure, they had
>> trouble getting used to the case sensitivity. But most got used to it.
>> Only those who refused to change didn't.
>
> There is a big difference between *allowing* the programmer to choose
> which case to use, and *forcing* the programmer to use a particular
> case.
>
> What I find annoying is the potential for case-sensitive languages to
> allow the same variable or function name to exist AND BE DIFFERENT
> ENTITIES.
But it's not the same variable or function name, it's different!! If I had
variables $foo and $FOO, the other would be 0x66 0x6F 0x6F as ascii codes,
the other 0x46 0x4F 0x4F. Those aren't the same.
In some spoken languages there are no upper and lower case, japanese for
instance. In such a language it really doesn't matter which case you want to
use, because there is no upper or lower.
If you've ever studied physics, you might've noticed how symbols are used in
equations all the time. In that case, small and uppercase is everything.
it's hell of a difference to write E=mc^2 than e=MC^2. The other is the
Einsteins most famous equation Energy = mass * speed of light to second
power, and the other is just non-sense, Napier's constant = mass of earth *
capacitance to second power, or something like that.
In physics upper- and lower case symbols have totally different meanings.
This is not directly applicable to php, but the world of physics with all
the symbols and equations is a language that is globally understood
regardless of it being case-sensitive. I don't expect to convince you that
php should be case-sensitive, all I'm saying is that physics as well as
mathematics sets an example of a case-sensitive language that really works.
And it's been that way for quite a long time now, the history of math goes
way back, thousands of years, before programming was even a concept.
--
"En ole paha ihminen, mutta omenat ovat elinkeinoni." -Perttu Sirviφ
antaatulla.sikanautaa@gmail.com.NOSPAM.invalid
[Back to original message]
|