Case-sensitive websites

I've never understood why you would want a case-sensitive webserver. ScotG's blog recently mentioned his purchase of an iSight. Since I don't follow Apple hardware (nor Apple in general) I clicked on his link to the iSight, http://www.apple.com/iSight. I got to an Apple page about it being an invalid link. So I went to Apple's product pages and saw a link to the iSight. I clicked on the linked and when it popped up in my browser, the URL looked like the same one ScotG had in his blog. I went back and double-checked his blog entry: iSight vs. isight.

I'm no marketing guy, but if I were Apple and I was selling a product called an "iSight", I would want http://www.apple.com/iSight to bring me to the page for the iSight...

Published Monday, June 30, 2003 8:41 AM by PSteele

Comments

# re: Case-sensitive websites

Even worse - a case sensitive programming language!

If anyone wanted nClaimNo and nclaimno to refer to two different things they'd want their head examined in my opinion.

Monday, June 30, 2003 9:17 AM by Duncan

# re: Case-sensitive websites

Perhaps apple should purchase some iNsight ;)

Monday, June 30, 2003 9:46 AM by Frans Bouma

# re: Case-sensitive websites

LOL!

Monday, June 30, 2003 10:50 AM by Patrick Steele

# re: Case-sensitive websites

Sometimes I think we VB.NET/Windows guys are a bit spoiled. We get a nice, friendly case insensitive file system so the web server doesn't have to bother fixing problems like this. And then we've got a nice, friendly case insensitive programming language so that it won't happen in our code either.

Monday, June 30, 2003 11:52 AM by Dave R

# re: Case-sensitive websites

I like the intended pun, but I have to agree with Dave R in that the Windows users have been spoiled into believing that there's is the only way. Unix-based file systems are always going to be case-sensitive, and we need to take that into account when we develop.

Now, I'm not saying that anyone should ever want to have 2 different websites with the same name (just cased differently). In fact, Apple should've placed a re-direct page at isight pointing to iSight to catch those users. But, as developers, we need to recognize the internals of these environments.

Monday, June 30, 2003 6:26 PM by Doug Thews