Opinions on case sensitivity in programming languages?
Tom Swingle
case-sensitive vs. case-insensitive languages. I have not been able to figure
out any major benefits one way or another. So this is where all of you come
in; you get to point out things that I might be missing. More specifically, I
am looking for reasons one might choose one over another when designing a
programming language. Plus, I would like to find out which one is preferred by
more people and why. Here are a few questions to incite discussion, although
you need not feel obligated to answer all of them, and please feel free to
comment on anything else regarding this issue that you want:
1. Do you prefer programming in a language which is case-sensitive or case-
insensitive (or does it even make a difference to you), and why?
2. How significant an issue is case-sensitivity in your preference toward one
language over another?
3. Since this article is posted to the C and Pascal newsgroups, here is a
question for the respective users of each language: To the C programmers, do
you feel that you would like C better if it were case-insensitive; and to the
Pascal programmers, do you feel that you would like it better with case
sensitivity? (I suppose the Pascal users could always go over to Modula-2,
but there's more to Modula-2 than just that. Just forget that Modula-2 exists
for now, Pascalites :-). )
4. If you were designing a language, would you make it case-sensitive, case-
insensitive, or maybe even allow for an option to go either way. (The last
choice might be rather awkward, and the answer to this question is not
necessarily the same as the answer to #1; you might have a preference, but
realize that the majority feels the other way--or maybe you don't care what
they think :-). )
Again, this is not intended to be an exhaustive list of questions; if you have
anything else to say about it, feel free to do so. Preferably, I would like
to do this in e-mail and summarize to the net (followups are directed to
poster). I will give the final count of votes among those with a preference,
as well as any other useful information that I get. And yes, I do have an
opinion, but I will not state it yet so as to avoid tainting the results :-).
Cast your vote today!!
--
"The problem you are experiencing is | "To be sure of hitting the target,
not with the network nor with the | shoot first and, whatever you hit,
station. Please adjust your set." | call it the target."
More ramblings from: tswi...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu/tswi...@bigbird.cs.ohiou.edu
Al Thompson
This is a subject I have been curious about for a long time: the merits of
case-sensitive vs. case-insensitive languages. I have not been able to figure
out any major benefits one way or another. So this is where all of you come
in; you get to point out things that I might be missing. More specifically, I
am looking for reasons one might choose one over another when designing a
programming language. Plus, I would like to find out which one is preferred by
more people and why. Here are a few questions to incite discussion, although
you need not feel obligated to answer all of them, and please feel free to
comment on anything else regarding this issue that you want:
1. Do you prefer programming in a language which is case-sensitive or case-
insensitive (or does it even make a difference to you), and why?
Case insensitive all the way. A cat is the same animal as a cAt.
2. How significant an issue is case-sensitivity in your preference toward one
language over another?
Not very, but I still think case insensitivity the proper way because of
its correspondence to natural languages. Another is an issue of
correctness. For example if I have two variable k and K a simple typo
can turn my program into a pumpkin and the compiler won't say a word.
Phi-Long Tran
a...@world.std.com (Al Thompson) writes...
> In article <1992Sep10.0...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu>
> tswi...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (Tom Swingle) writes:
>> ... 1. Do you prefer programming in a language which is case-sensitive
>> or case- insensitive (or does it even make a difference to you), and
>> why?
> Case insensitive all the way. A cat is the same animal as a cAt.
Case sensitivity is a useful feature. One usage is to name #define'd
constants and macros using only uppercase characters. This capitalization
serves to tell the reader that "this identifier will be replaced; be
careful." Case sensitivity provides one more mechanism for encoding some
more meaning into an identifier's name. Some programmers use case to
distinguish between functions and variables, as in Hungarian notation
(e.g., capitalize the first letter in a function name).
>> ... 2. How significant an issue is case-sensitivity in your preference
>> toward one language over another?
> Not very, but I still think case insensitivity the proper way because of
> its correspondence to natural languages. Another is an issue of
> correctness. For example if I have two variable k and K a simple typo
> can turn my program into a pumpkin and the compiler won't say a word.
I'm not sure that case insensitivity has a correspondence to natural
languages. It may with "spoken" language, where we stress intonation, etc.
As for the written language, we take great care to distinguish a proper
noun, an acronym, etc. using distinct cases. As for program correctness,
an undisciplined programmer may choose to change case depending on whether
he/she feels like tapping the shift key, resulting in inconsistencies in
the "form" and therefore, the readability of the code. Likewise, I wonder
if "k" and "K" are good identifiers at all?
---
Phi-Long Tran
pt...@asuvax.eas.asu.edu
Arizona State University
Jeff
>In article <ART.92Se...@world.std.com>,
>a...@world.std.com (Al Thompson) writes...
>
>> In article <1992Sep10.0...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu>
>> tswi...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (Tom Swingle) writes:
>
>>> ... 1. Do you prefer programming in a language which is case-sensitive
>>> or case- insensitive (or does it even make a difference to you), and
>>> why?
>
>> Case insensitive all the way. A cat is the same animal as a cAt.
>
> Case sensitivity is a useful feature. One usage is to name #define'd
>constants and macros using only uppercase characters. This capitalization
>serves to tell the reader that "this identifier will be replaced; be
>careful." Case sensitivity provides one more mechanism for encoding some
>more meaning into an identifier's name. Some programmers use case to
>distinguish between functions and variables, as in Hungarian notation
>(e.g., capitalize the first letter in a function name).
Note that case insensitivity still allows you to do this: When I use pascal,
I have my own, probably unique, system of choosing how to capitalize. But
at the same time, I'm free from the strange, bizarre, and unnatural
capitals that other people may choose to use.
>
>>> ... 2. How significant an issue is case-sensitivity in your preference
>>> toward one language over another?
>
>> Not very, but I still think case insensitivity the proper way because of
>> its correspondence to natural languages. Another is an issue of
>> correctness. For example if I have two variable k and K a simple typo
>> can turn my program into a pumpkin and the compiler won't say a word.
>
> I'm not sure that case insensitivity has a correspondence to natural
>languages. It may with "spoken" language, where we stress intonation, etc.
>As for the written language, we take great care to distinguish a proper
>noun, an acronym, etc. using distinct cases. As for program correctness,
>an undisciplined programmer may choose to change case depending on whether
>he/she feels like tapping the shift key, resulting in inconsistencies in
>the "form" and therefore, the readability of the code. Likewise, I wonder
>if "k" and "K" are good identifiers at all?
Case is something there for the programmer. This should be a feature, not
a straightjacket. While K and k may not be good identifiers, I find myself
using X and Y (Or, more often, x and y) in programming every day.
And when I get lazy, I like to be able to say WriteLn or writeLn or Writeln
or writeln or whatever I want to.
4. (In a language of my own creation, how would I do case)
I would probably want case-insensitivity. It leaves the programmer with the
ability to choose his own capitalization style, or lets someone be "sloppy."
The only reason *for* case sensivity that I could think of is the desire to
have functions FooBar, foobar, FOOBAR, etc., in the same program. I would
call that a Bad Thing (tm) -- Choose different names for heavens' sake.
Hartmut Frommert
..
>1. Do you prefer programming in a language which is case-sensitive or case-
>insensitive (or does it even make a difference to you), and why?
Depends on what I want to do: For a typesetting language (i.e. (Ams)(La)TeX)
it seems natural to be case sensitive (as TeX is) because the text to typeset
is case sensitive anyway. For programming, I would slightly prefer case
insensitive languages so that you may use Capitals for making names easier to
read/understand (TResourceCollection.CopyFrom, ...) but use as you want when
fasttyping a test program.
>2. How significant an issue is case-sensitivity in your preference toward one
>language over another?
Not very.
>3. Since this article is posted to the C and Pascal newsgroups, here is a
>question for the respective users of each language: To the C programmers, do
>you feel that you would like C better if it were case-insensitive; and to the
>Pascal programmers, do you feel that you would like it better with case
>sensitivity? [..]
I (pascal user) like it more as it is but could also live with it anyway.
>4. If you were designing a language, would you make it case-sensitive, case-
>insensitive, or maybe even allow for an option to go either way. [..]
As stated above, I would make a typesetting language case sensitive, a
general programming language (like C, Pascal, or Mathematica) case
insensitive. BTW I can live with and use Mma. being case sensitive.
--
Hartmut Frommert, Physics, Univ of Constance, | + Whale killing is murder. +
P.O.Box 55 60, D-W-7750 Konstanz, Germany | + Eat whale killers, not whales.
E-Mail: <phf...@nyx.uni-konstanz.de>
+ "Windows NoT" expands in German to "Windows Noch Teurer"
+ ^even ^more expensive
Al Thompson
In article <ART.92Se...@world.std.com>,
a...@world.std.com (Al Thompson) writes...
> In article <1992Sep10.0...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu>
> tswi...@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu (Tom Swingle) writes:
>> ... 1. Do you prefer programming in a language which is case-sensitive
>> or case- insensitive (or does it even make a difference to you), and
>> why?
> Case insensitive all the way. A cat is the same animal as a cAt.
Case sensitivity is a useful feature. One usage is to name #define'd
constants and macros using only uppercase characters. This capitalization
serves to tell the reader that "this identifier will be replaced; be
careful." Case sensitivity provides one more mechanism for encoding some
more meaning into an identifier's name. Some programmers use case to
distinguish between functions and variables, as in Hungarian notation
(e.g., capitalize the first letter in a function name).
But you can achieve this without case sensitivity in the language. This
is a matter of style, it's not a matter of language design.
>> ... 2. How significant an issue is case-sensitivity in your preference
>> toward one language over another?
> Not very, but I still think case insensitivity the proper way because of
> its correspondence to natural languages. Another is an issue of
> correctness. For example if I have two variable k and K a simple typo
> can turn my program into a pumpkin and the compiler won't say a word.
I'm not sure that case insensitivity has a correspondence to natural
languages. It may with "spoken" language, where we stress intonation, etc.
As for the written language, we take great care to distinguish a proper
noun, an acronym, etc. using distinct cases. As for program correctness,
an undisciplined programmer may choose to change case depending on whether
he/she feels like tapping the shift key, resulting in inconsistencies in
the "form" and therefore, the readability of the code. Likewise, I wonder
if "k" and "K" are good identifiers at all?
Well, I didn't k and K as suggestions for good identifier choices I
picked them because they were short and illustrated the point.
In natural language, spoken or otherwise, case doesn't change the meaning
of a word. I am only aware of two such words in the English language,
polish and Polish and job and Job. (There's supposed to be a third but
which it is escapes me at the moment. Does anybody know?)
Karl Heuer
Please, folks. The originator of this thread asked for responses by *email*.
Let's wait until the summary arrives before continuing this.
>[What's the third English word with this property?]
And *this* is especially off-topic. Please, don't start that discussion in
the technical groups.
Karl W. Z. Heuer (ka...@ima.isc.com or uunet!ima!karl), The Walking Lint
hal...@vax.oxford.ac.uk
> ... 1. Do you prefer programming in a language which is case-sensitive
> or case- insensitive (or does it even make a difference to you), and
> why?
To my mind, case sensitivity in a programming language or an
operating system is low-level thinking. The point of view is,
effectively, ``we've got this byte here, why waste 26 of its
values?'' This is letting the computer architecture dominate the
user interface in a counter-intuitive way.
In operating systems (***x), the one hard advantage of case
sensitivity is to allow a greater variety of key values. But this
has weight only if we need to assume a very minimal common
keyboard, a state of affairs that no longer exists, given that
almost every user will have access to at least a VT100 emulator.
For f and F to have separate meanings is useful, if users are
working with dumb terminals, but given even Kermit, I prefer
function keys to do things, and typing keys to type.
Someone, I think it's Bob Beauchaine, has a sig to the effect that
C combines the power of assembly language with the flexibility of
assembly language. Case sensitivity is a prime example.
Brendan
Brendan Halpin Email: HAL...@VAX.OXFORD.AC.UK
Nuffield College Phone: +44 865 278642
Oxford OX1 1NF
United Kingdom
Robert Osborne
> Case insensitive all the way. A cat is the same animal as a cAt.
cat ==> small furry animal.
CAT ==> Computer Aided Tomography.
Case sensitive all the way.
Rob.
--
Robert A. Osborne ...!uunet.ca!isgtec!robert or rob...@isgtec.com
Richard A. O'Keefe
> In natural language, spoken or otherwise, case doesn't change the meaning
> of a word. I am only aware of two such words in the English language,
> polish and Polish and job and Job. (There's supposed to be a third but
> which it is escapes me at the moment. Does anybody know?)
There must be dozens of them: "AIDS" and "aids", "Frank" and "frank",
"Hank" and "hank", ... Then there are the metric prefixes, in which
"m" and "M" are distinct, and you'd better not confuse "Nm" with "nm".
--
You can lie with statistics ... but not to a statistician.
Stephan Eggermont
: a...@world.std.com (Al Thompson) writes:
: > Case insensitive all the way. A cat is the same animal as a cAt.
:
: cat ==> small furry animal.
: CAT ==> Computer Aided Tomography.
:
: Case sensitive all the way.
CIT ==> Computer Inflicted Tunnel-vision. :-)
There are way to much TLA's to allow programmers to use them as names for
variables. As Sewell explains in his book on WEB, names with capitals in them
don't get typesetted well. If you want your programs to look right, you have
to use underscores. (computer_aided_tomography) You might want to use an
intelligent editor which knows which names of variables you allready used
(context-sensitive).
David Wilson
>a...@world.std.com (Al Thompson) writes:
>> Case insensitive all the way. A cat is the same animal as a cAt.
>
>cat ==> small furry animal.
>CAT ==> Computer Aided Tomography.
>
>Case sensitive all the way.
People like what they are accustomed to. And then they rationalize. There
is no profound answer to be had on this issue.
Dave Wilson
Tony Davie
> polish and Polish and job and Job. (There's supposed to be a third but
> which it is escapes me at the moment. Does anybody know?)
>
>
Hundreds of them: e.g. bill - Bill and nearly every girl's name based on a flower
(not to mention rabbit's names --- vide Watership Down!)
Tony Davie Department of Mathematical and Computational Sciences
Tel: +44 334 76161 x8136 St.Andrews University
Fax: +44 334 77068 North Haugh
a...@cs.st-andrews.ac.uk St.Andrews
Scotland
KY16 9SS
Recently heard: "yacc - the piece of code that understandeth all parsing"
Al Thompson
> I am only aware of two such words in the English language,
> polish and Polish and job and Job. (There's supposed to be a third but
> which it is escapes me at the moment. Does anybody know?)
>
>
Hundreds of them: e.g. bill - Bill and nearly every girl's name based on a flower
(not to mention rabbit's names --- vide Watership Down!)
No, no. I was asking about words that are PRONOUNCED differently when
capitalized.