Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site ncoast.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!cwruecmp!atvax!ncoast!bsa From: bsa@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: Case distinction in variable names Message-ID: <474@ncoast.UUCP> Date: Fri, 9-Nov-84 13:31:36 EST Article-I.D.: ncoast.474 Posted: Fri Nov 9 13:31:36 1984 Date-Received: Tue, 13-Nov-84 06:46:12 EST References: <4154@decwrl.UUCP> Reply-To: bsa@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) Organization: North Coast XENIX, Cleveland Lines: 38 Summary: > Article <4154@decwrl.UUCP>, from ddb@mrvax.DEC (DAVID DYER-BENNET MRO1-2/L14 DTN 231-4076) +---------------- | >>1. C is not English | >>2. This is an automatic way to break LOTS (also lots) of code | >>-- | >>Gene E. Bloch (...!nsc!voder!gino) | | 1. Reading C uses many of the same skills as reading English. Also the | same skills as reading most other programming languages. C is, again, not English; nor is it Pascal, FORTRAN (shudder), BASIC (super-shudder), or Modula-2. If you'd give up case distinction in C, maybe you'd like to give up some of those *other* strange, un-natural objects in C: unions, for example (Pascal has 'em, barely; C is sane about them). There are a LOT of other examples. If you want case to be non-distinct, go back to BASIC. | 2. Do people really write code with variables differing only in casing? | **shudder**. I suppose they do. Given the user communitie's attitude | on compatibility it's probably too late to save C, but as a basic | principle I think case distinction in variable (or file) naming | is EXTREMELY BAD ergonomic design. I often use C's case distinction to give an understandable name to a certain kind of variable (kai structured programming! :-): FILE *file; You include *file names* too? PLEASE go back to whatever operating system (TRSDOS?) you came from! This is UNIX. --bsa -- Brandon Allbery @ North Coast Xenix | the.world!ucbvax!decvax!cwruecmp! 6504 Chestnut Road, Independence, Ohio | {atvax!}ncoast!{tdi1!}bsa (216) 524-1416 \ 44131 | E1439@CSUOHIO.BITNET (friend's acct.) ---------------------------------------+--------------------------------------- `Confusion is my natural state.'