vi `ei:' (`modeline')

[terryl at tekcrl.CRL.TEK.COM]

In article <4151 at boulder.Colorado.EDU> wu at spot.Colorado.EDU (WU SHI-KUEI) writes:
>In article <1857 at loral.UUCP> jlh at loral.UUCP (Physically Pffft) writes:
>>.....  There are also some files where I want ignorecase turned off, while
>>I want it on 95% of the time.
>
>Curiousity has gotten the better of me and unfortunately I cannot send replies
>from this machine .... but why turn on ignorecase?  In the six or seven years
>I have used and taught vi I have never heard of anyone using this feature and
>would appreciate what Jim Harkins' (and anyone else's) motivation is for
>turning it on.

>Carl Brandauer


     Ah, Mr. Brandauer, you have obviously not worked with an object-oriented
language, or with people whose main work is with object-oriented languages
but do program in other languages.

     You see, it's sort of a common occurence in object-oriented languages
to capitalize(capitilize?) the first letter in each word of a variable (i.e.
if you had a variable called `thisisavariable', it would consist of four words
"this is a variable", and would be written as thus: ThisIsAVariable); BUT
(you know, there's always a BUT!! (-:), one does not capitalize the very first
word in a variable if it's a class variable (or is it not capitalized if it's
an instance variable, or is it something else??? I could never remember....).

     The point being is that this common occurence is so deeply ingrained in
object-oriented languages (especially Smalltalk(TM)), that people whose main
work in object-oriented carry it over when they program in other languages.
I have worked exstensively with people with an object-oriented background
but still do a fair amount of programming in C(TM, I assume!!), and when I
edit these files, I do want ignorecase turned on. In the other 95% of the
time, like Mr. Harkins said, I want it turned off.....

     Also, it's such a drag to work on a file that's been created on a VMS
system that's somehow found its way onto a UNIX system (since VMS use caps
for EVERYTHING!!! (Insert MANY (-: here)). Since I'm too lazy to keep hitting
the <SHIFT> key, I'll just turn on ignorecase.....