What does the "case-preserving" feature of Mac OS Extended indicate?

The case-preserving feature of Mac OS Extended indicates that the file system maintains the case of the letters in filenames. This means that while the file system remembers and retains the distinctions between uppercase and lowercase letters, it does not differentiate between them when it comes to filename resolution. For example, a file named "Document.txt" and another named "document.txt" would be seen as the same file; the system would treat them as equivalent despite their differing cases.

This characteristic is crucial for developers and users alike, as it allows for flexibility in naming files while ensuring that the filenames remain visually distinct. It allows users to preserve the original case of filenames for clarity and organization without enforcing case sensitivity that could lead to confusion or errors in file retrieval.