Terry Reedy wrote: > Difference annoyances for different folks, I guess.
IN MY EXPERIENCE, MANY PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET ARE ANNOYED BY PEOPLE WHO DON'T USE CASE THE WAY THEY ARE EXPECTED. IT ALSO SEEMS TO ME THAT LOWER CASE TEXT IS OFTEN MORE EASY TO READ, AND ALSO THAT IT IS EASIER TO SCAN TEXTS IF CASE IS CONSISTENT. WE DO AFTER ALL SEE IMAGES ON THE SCREEN. EVEN IF WE RELATE "IF" WITH "if", THEY DON'T LOOK THE SAME. MY SON POINTED AT THE WORD "TOYOTA" IN A MAGAZINE AND EXCLAIMED "TOTOTA" WHEN HE WAS ONLY THREE. HE WAS CLEARLY TOO YOUNG TO READ, BUT HE RECOGNIZED THE IMAGE OF THE LOGO HE HAD SEEN ON OLD TOYOTAS. IN GENERAL, PYTHON "TRIES" TO FORCE A PARTICULAR STYLE OF CODING ON PROGRAMMERS. WE HAVE TO INDENT IN A PARTICULAR WAY. THE STYLE OF PROGRAMMING HAS BEEN CODIFIED IN PEP 008, AND COWBOY PROGRAMMING ISN'T REALLY APPRECIATED. YOU ARE NOT "SUPPOSED" TO PROGRAM PYTHON "YOUR WAY". YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO PROGRAM THE RIGHT WAY. IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT, IT IS PROBABLY BETTER TO USE ANOTHER LANGUAGE. PERL IS MORE OF A COWBOY LANUGAGE. THE FUNNY THING IS THAT EVEN PERL IS CASE SENSITIVE! EXPLAIN THAT!!! IMO IT'S A STRENGTH OF PYTHON THAT PYTHON CODE IS ALWAYS CONSISTENT IN CASE. IT IS PROBABLY A MINOR FEATURE COMPARED TO THE BLOCK STRUCTURES ETC, BUT I THINK IT ADDS TO THE EASE OF READING CODE WHICH HAS BEEN WRITTEN BY OTHERS. I DO ALSO DISLIKE THE ALTERNATIVES. NEITHER CODE WITH INCONSISTENT USE OF CASE NOR THE STUPID "CASE CORRECTING" FEATURES IN E.G. THE VISUAL BASIC IDE SEEMS TO BE ANYTHING TO STRIVE FOR. IF YOU THOUGHT IT WAS ANNOYING TO READ THIS, THEN YOU CAN AT LEAST APPRECIATE THAT PYTHON CODE NEVER LOOKS LIKE SUCH A COMPACT BLOB! Who am I kidding with this? Everybody knows that case doesn't matter, right? The text below isn't a bit easier to read than the text above, right? In my experience, many people on the internet are annoyed by people who don't use case the way they are expected. It also seems to me that lower case text is often more easy to read, and also that it is easier to scan texts if case is consistent. We do after all see images on the screen. Even if we relate "IF" with "if", they don't look the same. My son pointed at the word "TOYOTA" in a magazine and exclaimed "Totota" when he was only three. He was clearly too young to read, but he recognized the image of the logo he had seen on old toyotas. In general, Python "tries" to force a particular style of coding on programmers. We have to indent in a particular way. The style of programming has been codified in PEP 008, and cowboy programming isn't really appreciated. You are not "supposed" to program Python "your way". You are supposed to program the right way. If you don't like that, it is probably better to use another language. Perl is more of a cowboy lanugage. The funny thing is that even Perl is case sensitive! Explain that!!! IMO it's a strength of Python that Python code is always consistent in case. It is probably a minor feature compared to the block structures etc, but I think it adds to the ease of reading code which has been written by others. I do also dislike the alternatives. Neither code with inconsistent use of case nor the stupid "case correcting" features in e.g. the Visual Basic IDE seems to be anything to strive for. If you thought it was annoying to read this, then you can at least appreciate that Python code never looks like such a compact blob! oF cOuRsE, wE sHoUlDn'T aSsUmE tHaT pEoPlE wIlL aBuSe ThE fReEdOm ThEy GeT, bUt I'm RaThEr SaFe ThAn SoRrY! ;^) I'm ReAlLy hApPy ThAt I'lL nEvEr HaVe To SeE aLl-CaPs PyThOn PrOgRaMs! -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
