Case insensitivity (was Re: browse keys (@bk))

[Fairlight]

This public service announcement was brought to you by Brian K. White:
> 
> I said you should avoid it, or at least not expect or demand
> case-sensativity.

I didn't save it, but from what I read, you -seemed- to be saying it should
never be done, period.  Maybe I misread.

> BTW: I don't consider such things as http/cgi session id's in this category.
> They are unique identifiers, but they are never meant to be remembered,
> written down, or typed in by a human.

And my own CGI session id's are all numeric, save for the dash between two
segments.

> ups tracking number is a borderline case to me between being like an invoice
> number and being like a session id. (ok it's more like an invoice number)
> If they are case sensative then presumably ups has their reasons for it, but
> I would say they should not be if anyone is ever meant to handle them
> manually and people certainly do.

I find that argument slightly ridiculous.  That's like saying that
filenames in *nix should never be case sensitive if human beings are to
access files manually.  That's patently absurd.  Both are references to
"objects", whether they're files and their attendant filesystem structures,
or whether they're records or related collections thereof.

I'm not saying UPS's numbers are case sensitive.  I doubt they are.  I'm
saying that there's nothing to automatically invalidate such a scheme, aside
from introducing the potential for mis-typing it if your finger slips off
the shift key.  

People screw up case-sensitive URL's all the time, and it's problematic
when it's to a *nix system and you get beyond the hostname portion of the
URI.  Doesn't mean the standard or the OS is stupid, it means the users are
careless or ignorant.

mark->
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