We have some people in our organization with moderate to severe vision
impairment. The post below would be received quite happily by our small
population. Likewise, contrast where experienced in many web pages
(developed by the young and color happy) often creates unreadable
rendering. We take for granted that curbs should have ramps. Bizarre
is that we take for granted that all can see perfectly.
As we sometimes remind our younger generations "perfect health is
temporary."
On 3/3/2014 11:33 AM, Ed Jaffe wrote:
On 3/3/2014 8:01 AM, John Gilmore wrote:
I don't use rhetoricons. They're self-defeating. The intent of the
comment Paul Schuster quotes was, however, whimsical..
MIXED CASE PROVIDES AN AUTHOR OR PROGRAMMER WITH ACCESS TO TWICE AS MANY
GLYPHS AS UPPERCASE ONLY. AS JOHN EHRMAN POINTED OUT (WITH CITATIONS),
STUDIES SHOW THAT READABILITY IS IMPROVED. COULD YOU IMAGINE READING A
PAPERBACK NOVEL IN ALL UPPERCASE? IT WOULD BE VERY TIRING! FOCUSING
EXCLUSIVELY ON PROGRAMMING, I PARTICULARLY LIKE THE WAY UPPERCASE
CONTROL BLOCK ACRONYMS AND OTHER HEADINGS STAND OUT AMONG MIXED CASE
COMMENTS. OF COURSE, I CONSIDER FREEDOM OF CHOICE TO BE A GOOD THING
AND, FOR THIS REASON, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THE EXISTENCE OF
CASE-INSENSITIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES (LIKE HLASM) THAT ALLOW ANY CASE
TO BE SPECIFIED BY THE PROGRAMMER, BASED ON PERSONAL PREFERENCE. SUCH
LANGUAGES TAKE EXTRA "TROUBLE" TO INTERNALLY FOLD SYMBOLS TO UPPERCASE
WHEN DOING HASH TABLE LOOKUPS OR OTHER COMPARISONS INVOLVING A SYMBOLIC
NAME. PERSONALLY, WHEN I WRITE IN ALL CAPS LIKE THIS, I FEEL LIKE I'M
SHOUTING -- BUT MAYBE THAT'S JUST ME. IN ANY CASE (NO PUN INTENDED), I
THINK IT WOULD BE A VALUABLE EXERCISE FOR FOLKS THAT ADAMANTLY PREFER
UPPERCASE EXCLUSIVITY IN THEIR PROGRAMS TO SPEND A FEW WEEKS AUTHORING
LETTERS, EMAIL, PROGRAMMING DOCUMENTATION, AND OTHER HUMAN-READABLE TEXT
DOCUMENTS IN UPPERCASE TO SEE JUST HOW MUCH IS LOST...
--
EDWARD E JAFFE
PHOENIX SOFTWARE INTERNATIONAL, INC
831 PARKVIEW DRIVE NORTH
EL SEGUNDO, CA 90245
HTTP://WWW.PHOENIXSOFTWARE.COM/
