Case sensitivity!

Why don't more people use a case-sensitive SQL Server? I was installing the latest 1.x version of DotNetNuke and had some database problems. I found the database create scripts in the "database" subdirectory and decided I'd run them individually and see if anything pops up. It sure did! This code only works on a case-insensitive database. If your database is case-sensitive, the scripts fail. Why? How hard is it to write it against a case-sensitive database? That will guarantee that it will run on either one.

Very frustrating. I recall having the same problem when playing around with setting up a database for managing ASP.NET session state. Arghh!

7 Comments

  • Because, as you're discovering, running case-sensitive servers is a pain in the ass.



    Sooner or later you'll be convinced of the errors of your ways, and step into the light with the rest of us :)

  • Bah, case sensitivity is one of the primary reason I hate Oracle (as of version 8.1.7 that is, i dunno what recent versions have). You do know how hard that makes searching functionality to implement...right?

  • Lazy VB developers, can't even get the casing right :)



    Using consistent casing makes code a lot more readable, icollection and iColLecTion do not look like the same identifier. I personally think that programmers that can't even use the same casing in their code don't bother with other things either, like releasing their objects, checking input and return values and so on. Their driving force seems to be writing code fast, not writing good code.

  • Uh, Jerry, we're talking about the database side. Coding against a case-sensitive database is a huge pain in the ass, especially when you architect your app to be database agnostic.

  • John, how exactly is using the same casing pain in the ass? I can't see any difference between case sensitive SQL statements and case sensitive C/C++/C#/Java code... And relying on a database to be case-insensitive is not beign database agnostic. Quite the oposite.

  • Who in their right mind likes a case-sensitive database? That's one more reason I prefer VB.NET over C#. As far as case goes, I'm usually consistent, but why should I be needlessly punished if I do a little "SELECT this" in one SP and a little "SELECT This" in another?

  • It's not a question of "liking" a case-sensitive database. It's installing your software for the first time on a customer's case-sensitive server after doing all of your development on a case-insensitive server....



    A few problems can arise... :)

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