Author: Christophe Theron
Date: 11:33:12 05/24/02
Go up one level in this thread
On May 24, 2002 at 11:39:21, Ed Panek wrote:
>On May 23, 2002 at 16:03:11, Christophe Theron wrote:
>
>>On May 23, 2002 at 11:15:14, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>
>>>On May 23, 2002 at 01:31:56, Jeremiah Penery wrote:
>>>
>>>>On May 23, 2002 at 01:16:44, Robert Hyatt wrote:
>>>>
>>>>>On May 22, 2002 at 22:08:45, Christophe Theron wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>Filenames are case sensitive in Windows only for storing. When searching for
>>>>>>filenames, the search is case insensitive. That's the best way to do it in my
>>>>>>opinion.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>Not in mine. I want WCCCxxxx to mean something significant, since WCCC is
>>>>>obviously an abbreviation for something. wcccxxxx should (to me) be a
>>>>>different file. Otherwise, _why_ would I name one WCCCxxxx and the other
>>>>>wcccxxxx and expect them to be the same? Why not just type them the same
>>>>>and it works. IE if you don't like case-sensitive filenames, simply make
>>>>>all your filenames lowercase and the problem is instantly solved, but
>>>>>leaving the rest of us the option of using case sensitivity to do whatever
>>>>>we want...
>>>>
>>>>He's not talking about saving a file with different case. If a filesystem can
>>>>do that, great. But when you're _searching_ for a file, you should be able to
>>>>search for "wccc..." and see a list with _both_ sets of files. That is what
>>>>Christophe is saying, and it makes way more sense to do it this way.
>>>
>>>
>>>This is already trivial to do using regular expressions. Or anybody could
>>>write their own "find" command that is case insensitive. I did this inside
>>>Crafty to match GM/IM names to adjust how crafty behaves. And I found it
>>>tedious to try to match strange combinations of upper and lower case letters,
>>>so I simply mapped them all to lowercase _first_...
>>>
>>>But in Unix, if you are looking for files or strings in files, it is trivial
>>>to make it case insensitive already. Just study "regular expressions"...
>>
>>
>>
>>And here we get a good understanding of one of the problems that will keep Linux
>>away from mainstream (and that's a pity).
>>
>>The file matching convention is user unfriendly (convince yourself by making a
>>poll here for example), and the proposed solution for this problem is even more
>>unfriendly (regular expressions, how am I going to explain that to my mother -
>>she just wants to do word processing and email).
>>
>>That's all the Linux philosophy in a snapshot. It's just an example, but you can
>>repeat the same pattern for many features of the OS.
>>
>>Normal people care more about useability than about features.
>>
>>But not Linux users/developpers. Linux users/developpers care more about
>>features than about useability.
>>
>>The result is a clear success: the stuff is unuseable for normal people. And
>>Linuxers like it: normal people are a threat to the philosophy. They might
>>demand stupid things, like being able to retrieve a file called "WCCCxxx" by
>>just typing "wccc*". Geez!
>>
>>Time for new blood to kick in and reconsider some basic things... There is a
>>huge potential in Linux.
>>
>>
>>
>> Christophe
>
>
> Christophe,
>
> I agree. I speak to endusers (even smart MD types!) and for them Unix and
>Linux is intimidating and foreign. Having streetpeople use vi is dangerous and
>sometimes funny. Compare looking in both a Windows or a Unix based OS for a file
> called "startAppletalk" for an enduser to change and the Windows based system
>will be much easier to do and more intuitive for average Joes than Unix/Linux
>(vi takes a 2 page document for streetpeople). Not to say Unix isnt the betterr
>OS...it is... but ask yourself this: How suprised would you be to see an 80 year
>old woman in a basic Windows class....how about a basic Unix class!!??
>
>
>Ed
That's the point. But most Linux users/lovers are to proud of their system to
care about this.
The main handicap of Linux at this time is the people using/promoting it.
That's why I'm calling for fresh blood.
Christophe
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