Case sensitive file names

[Moderator, John Quarterman]

From: @SUMEX-AIM.ARPA:MRC at PANDA (Mark Crispin)
Date: Sun 2 Nov 86 10:54:35-PST
Postal-Address: 1802 Hackett Ave.; Mountain View, CA  94043-4431
Phone: +1 (415) 968-1052

Jacob Hallen -

     You missed the point, I think.  Very few if any of us in the
case-independence camp are arguing that case should be coerced into
all upper (e.g. TOPS-20) or all lower (e.g. what you have to do with
a Unix file server in a case-independent network environment).  You
should be allowed to create a file called ReadMe.

     What we are asking for is that if you try to access the ReadMe
file by specifying "readme" or "Readme" or "README" or even "rEADmE"
you should get the ReadMe file instead of a file not found error.
Furthermore, if you open "readme", "Readme", etc. for write, it should
supercede the ReadMe file and the resulting file should have the
original case of ReadMe.

     In other words, finding a file for read will match any case.
Finding a file for write will match any case, supercede any such older
file, and will preserve the case of that older file.  The only way to
change the case would be with rename; the source name would be case
independent but the destination case would be preserved.  Of course,
you could also change the case by deleting ReadMe and then opening
README for write...

     This gives you all the directory advantages of a case-dependent
filesystem.  The only "feature" you lose is the ability to create a
separate Readme, ReadMe, readme, and README set of files.  I personally
believe that anybody who creates files which differ from case deserves
to be shot or at least have his employment terminated with extreme
prejudice.  [ I suggest readers interpret that last sentence as a
hypothetical statement applying to none of them.  -mod ]

     There are filesystems that behave in this manner, and they are
quite pleasant to use.  Please, if you support case-dependence, don't
give the "mixed case filesystems" class of arguments.  The only two
arguments you really have are (1) it is a "feature" (however dubious)
that you can create Makefile and makefile as separate files in the
same directory, and (2) Unix does it this way.
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Volume-Number: Volume 8, Number 25