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I have two MacBook Pros, but they shipped with a case-insensitive file systems. I would like to test a few of my utilities on a case-sensitive file system. Is there anyway to turn case-sensitivity on per application? Perhaps there is another solution that does not require a re-format of the hard drive?

I also read Technical Note TN2096: Debugging Case-Sensitivity Bugs in Applications. But it does not detail how to set up a test environment.

Kara
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jww
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  • We can see that in the revision history. Not that we care. (You're kind of preaching to the choir anyway...) – BoltClock Dec 09 '12 at 07:32

1 Answers1

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There is no way to "turn on case-sensitivity" for a single application. The filesystem structure on your volume is what's case-sensitive or not.

You can use Disk Utility to set this up, in a couple of different ways:

  • If you're just testing reading and writing files: make a disk image, using the format "Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled)". Mount that disk image and make your app use it.

  • If you want to test on a system booted from a case-sensitive filesystem: add a partition to your drive, choose the case-sensitive format for the new partition, then install OS X on it. Or use an external disk.

I'm sure there are more tricky ways, but those should get you started.

Kurt Revis
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