Question

78

"Do you want to continue[Y/n]?" Why the upper case?

rated 0 times [ 78] [ 0] / answers: 1 / hits: 12668 / 2 Years ago, tue, march 22, 2022, 3:08:26

I am new to Ubuntu and some little thing started bugging me. When I try to install a program, Ubuntu asks:

Do you want to continue[Y/n]?

What is bugging me is why the letter Y is upper case and n is lower case. Whatever case I enter it doesn't change the outcome: it either continues or not.

Do they have any significant reason why one is upper and the latter is lower? Are they trying to notify us that we can enter both and it won't change anything?

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answered 2 Years ago olouredping · Accepted Answer

Usually, the uppercase option (Y in your case) is the default option if you don't provide any and just press ↲ Enter. This is a convention I see very often on the command line.

I wish I could provide a credible source, but I fail to find one. However, this is something I see very often in Debian/Ubuntu systems, in various programs.

The closest "source" I could find is a Q&A on Stack Overflow: Standard format for yes/no questions in the terminal?