From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: * X-Spam-Status: No, score=1.1 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_40,INVALID_DATE autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!GTEWD.ARPA!pse_papay From: pse_papay@GTEWD.ARPA Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: case sensitivity Message-ID: <8902201944.AA05264@ajpo.sei.cmu.edu> Date: 20 Feb 89 19:45:00 GMT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The Internet List-Id: In volume 89, issue 54 Bruce Anderson asked: > > ... does everyone think that the case-insensitivity of Ada is a positive > feature and if so why? > The reason for Ada's case insensitivity is one of portability. Ada was designed to be the common higher order programming language for the DoD. Since some of the computers used by the DoD may not support upper and lower case characters, Ada cannot be a case sensitive language. Is this a positive feature of the language? When one takes into account the issue of portability, I think it is a very positive feature. As for the rest of the computer science community, I can only assume that a large number of people feel the same way, as this feature was required by the "Steelman" document. One last comment: Its too bad that many people feel "forced" to use Ada, as Mr. Anderson's company is. Why is it that when a group of C, or FORTRAN, or Pascal programmers get together (at a conference, workshop, et al), they're there because they _want_ to, while when a group of Ada programmers get together, many are there because they _have_ to? David F. Papay papayd@gtewd.arpa GTE Government Systems Corp. 100 Ferguson Dr. (415)-694-1522 PO Box 7188 M/S 5G09 Mountain View, CA 94039