Well, the computers had 8 bits, and the last 7 bits were standard. Various code pages for various languages or special characters were created by various manufacturers.
On Sat, Oct 25, 2025 at 10:09 AM [email protected] < [email protected]> wrote: > * > When choosing case insensitivity designers must carefully > * > consider what its scope should be. > * > > > This is a key point. File names are often mentioned in text (books, email, > newsgroups, etc). Sometimes the file name is copied (maybe cut & paste) > from code examples, and sometimes it is simply typed by the author. Should > text processors "recognize" that the text is a file name and automatically > convert it to upper case? Or convert it to lower case to look better in the > middle of a paragraph? > > There is another part to text cases: terminal keyboards, and not all of > these are "standard" English. And, of course, some languages are > "right-to-left" instead of the "left-to-right" that most of us are > accustomed to use. Should text processors somehow recognize when a file > name is being discussed and provide special handling? Sometimes a > particular case is important for recognition (DeLorenko vs DELORENKO or > delorenko could make a customer unhappy!) As mentioned already, automatic > case changes are not clearly defined in some languages. > > "Text processor" can mean anything from ISPF edit to an expensive > "professional" author's tool. (I use both; many of us use a wide range of > these tools.) > > While it was less true in "7 bit ASCII days" we should remember that the > computer world is a world-wide concept today. I can grasp how "upper case" > happened in keypunch days (no lower case) and "7 bit" days but, IMHO, it is > unfortunate that z/OS has stuck with some upper case restrictions. (Of > course, changing this now might cause nightmares in some production > operations!) > > Bill Ogden > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN > -- Mike A Schwab, Springfield IL USA Where do Forest Rangers go to get away from it all? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
