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RE: Re: Ignore patterns should not be case sensitive (usability)

From: Reedick, Andrew <jr9445_at_ATT.COM>
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:09:34 -0500

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jared Hardy [mailto:jaredhardy_at_gmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, March 24, 2008 3:25 PM
> To: users_at_subversion.tigris.org
> Subject: Re: Ignore patterns should not be case sensitive (usability)
>
>
> While I like the amusing subtlety of the suggestion here, I think a
> lot of this discussion is ignoring the basics of good interface
> design. Useful defaults are very important to all interfaces, even
> command-line tools -- especially when appealing to a broad user base.
> Most (if not all) users try to avoid files having the same name with
> mixed case, and by the same token don't think about case when writing
> comparison rules. In Windows, they don't even really have a choice in
> the matter, so all features that favor case-insensitivity there should
> be enabled at all times, regardless of user preference. Even in my
> C/++ programming, I tend towards case-insensitive string comparison
> routines by default. Forcing humans to be that consistent, about
> something as subtle as case, is just a fool's errand.
> So, I'm obviously biased here, maybe in part from dealing with
> artists as my primary users. I just tend to think case-insensitivity
> should be the default for ALL user facing string operations,
> especially with something as arbitrary as file names.
>

I would have to agree with case insensitive globs/regexes by default.
Subversion is OS independent, so why should it favor one OS's paradigm
over another? Given how we frequently we throw out the mantra "it's a
social problem, not a tool problem," it would make sense to choose 'case
insensitive' globs/regexes by default, since that would favor average
humans.

Besides, if you know about case sensitivity, then you're smart enough to
look for and use a case sensitive flag. Anyone who isn't already aware
of case sensitivity wouldn't know why their glob/regex was failing and
wouldn't know what to do.

Version control doesn't make money, it saves money. So, the less you
spend on training, the more value SVN has.

(Just to be clear: filenames should remain case sensitive because
there's no good compromise. Regex/blobs should be insensitive by
default.)

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Received on 2008-03-24 21:10:29 CET

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