Case insensitivity

[Tim Rowe]

In article <L10b7.89873$Xr6.443235 at news-server.bigpond.net.au>, 
nhodgson at bigpond.net.au (Neil Hodgson) wrote:

> Tim Rowe:
> 
> > But the sort of changes being
> > /discussed/ (but mercifully mainly not implemented) would be more 
> > like the
> > transition from BCPL to B to C, and would merit completely different
> > names.
> 
>    Are you saying that some changes are reasonable while keeping the 
> Python
> name but others are not? The problem here is different views on the 
> impact
> and benefits of various changes. IMO, the change from deterministic
> finalisation to indeterministic finalisation, which occurred first in 
> Jython
> and then when Python got garbage collection (was that in 2.0? the past 
> is
> all a blur now) was more significant than either case sensitivity or 
> int on
> int division.
> 
>    The world of software is changing quite rapidly with techniques that 
> were
> formerly resisted because of cost (such as garbage collection, machine
> independent code, and verifiable execution environments) now accepted
> because of improvements in implementation and in hardware speed. If 
> Python
> doesn't change then other languages which are new or which adapt will be
> more attractive. I don't want to see Python frozen into irrelevance.

Nor do I want to see it mutated into irrelevance. No language should be 
immortal, but a virile language will sire children. BCPL sired B which 
sired K&R C which sired ANSI C which sired C++ and Objective C. Pascal 
sired Modula which sired Modula 2 which sired Modula 3 and Ada. In twenty 
years time I want to be programming in Jabberwocky, a descendent of 
Python, and speaking of Guido in the way that I would now speak of Wirth 
and Kernigan.