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From: bzs@bu-cs.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Long names in System V (really mixed case)
Message-ID: <6130@bu-cs.BU.EDU>
Date: Sun, 5-Apr-87 00:52:43 EST
Article-I.D.: bu-cs.6130
Posted: Sun Apr  5 00:52:43 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 5-Apr-87 21:50:41 EST
References: <040187.111854.dan@ibm.com> <311@desint.UUCP> <776@jumbo.dec.com> <424@bacchus.MIT.EDU>
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Organization: Boston U. Comp. Sci.
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In-reply-to: martillo@athena.mit.edu's message of 5 Apr 87 00:07:39 GMT
Posting-Front-End: GNU Emacs 18.41.4 of Mon Mar 23 1987 on bu-cs (berkeley-unix)


Yakim Martillo writes
>While I agree that mixed case names are easy to parse, some operating
>systems are mostly case insensitve on the command line.  I think VMS,
>DOS, and PRIMOS force file name case either to upper or lower case.  I
>guess people coming from one of these systems to Unix might have some
>problems with meaningful case in file names.  

Yes, in fact almost all O/S's other than UNIX use single case or
resist mixed case (TOPS-20.) This of course doesn't make it a good
thing, it's more a throwback to 029 keypunches and SIXBIT/RAD50
bit-smashing schemes.

The only "danger" is if you make them only unambiguous due to the case
sensitivity (Makefile/makefile comes to mind) as they'll probably
smash each other coming off a tape (or cause the tape utility to
scream.)

Other than that, as Jim Gettys pointed out, the mixed case contains
useful information (which, as far as the software is concerned, should
be harmlessly lost when moved to a case insensitive machine, unless of
course strings within programs [eg] refer to these files and this
isn't handled "properly", I suppose that's worth a thought.)

Has the original plaintiff tried 'stty lcase' :-)

	-Barry Shein, Boston University