diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/AntClassLoader.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/AntClassLoader.java
index 4bcf0259f..5d6a7568d 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/AntClassLoader.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/AntClassLoader.java
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ import java.util.Hashtable;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.StringTokenizer;
 import java.util.Vector;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.jar.Attributes;
 import java.util.jar.Attributes.Name;
 import java.util.jar.JarEntry;
@@ -1280,7 +1279,7 @@ public class AntClassLoader extends ClassLoader implements SubBuildListener {
                 sealedString = mainAttributes.getValue(Name.SEALED);
             }
         }
-        if (sealedString != null && sealedString.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals("true")) {
+        if (sealedString != null && sealedString.equalsIgnoreCase("true")) {
             try {
                 sealBase = new URL(FileUtils.getFileUtils().toURI(container.getAbsolutePath()));
             } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
index bc88253c5..843e81093 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/Project.java
@@ -32,7 +32,6 @@ import java.util.Vector;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.HashMap;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.WeakHashMap;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.input.DefaultInputHandler;
@@ -1715,10 +1714,9 @@ public class Project implements ResourceFactory {
      *         <code>false</code> otherwise.
      */
     public static boolean toBoolean(String s) {
-        String lc = s == null ? null : s.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        return ("on".equals(lc)
-                || "true".equals(lc)
-                || "yes".equals(lc));
+        return ("on".equalsIgnoreCase(s)
+                || "true".equalsIgnoreCase(s)
+                || "yes".equalsIgnoreCase(s));
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/ProjectHelper.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/ProjectHelper.java
index 8baca5834..93294a141 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/ProjectHelper.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/ProjectHelper.java
@@ -47,10 +47,6 @@ public class ProjectHelper {
     /** Polymorphic attribute  */
     public static final String ANT_TYPE = "ant-type";
 
-    /** Lowercase version of {@link ANT_TYPE} used for comparisons */
-    public static final String ANT_TYPE_LC =
-        ANT_TYPE.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
     /**
      * Name of JVM system property which provides the name of the
      * ProjectHelper class to use.
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/PropertyHelper.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/PropertyHelper.java
index 61b4c5456..082f2c702 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/PropertyHelper.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/PropertyHelper.java
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Hashtable;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Set;
 import java.util.Vector;
 import java.util.Enumeration;
@@ -1146,13 +1145,13 @@ public class PropertyHelper implements GetProperty {
             return (Boolean) value;
         }
         if (value instanceof String) {
-            String s = ((String) value).toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
+            String s = (String) value;
             if (Project.toBoolean(s)) {
                 return Boolean.TRUE;
             }
-            if ("off".equals(s)
-                || "false".equals(s)
-                || "no".equals(s)) {
+            if ("off".equalsIgnoreCase(s)
+                || "false".equalsIgnoreCase(s)
+                || "no".equalsIgnoreCase(s)) {
                 return Boolean.FALSE;
             }
         }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/RuntimeConfigurable.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/RuntimeConfigurable.java
index 34931e87c..1613653ff 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/RuntimeConfigurable.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/RuntimeConfigurable.java
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Hashtable;
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 
@@ -185,15 +184,14 @@ public class RuntimeConfigurable implements Serializable {
      * @param value the attribute's value.
      */
     public synchronized void setAttribute(String name, String value) {
-        String nameLC = name.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        if (nameLC.equals(ProjectHelper.ANT_TYPE_LC)) {
+        if (name.equalsIgnoreCase(ProjectHelper.ANT_TYPE)) {
             this.polyType = value;
         } else {
             if (attributeNames == null) {
                 attributeNames = new ArrayList();
                 attributeMap = new HashMap();
             }
-            if (nameLC.equals("refid")) {
+            if (name.equalsIgnoreCase("refid")) {
                 attributeNames.add(0, name);
             } else {
                 attributeNames.add(name);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Available.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Available.java
index b3f5fd84a..1af6aaaf3 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Available.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Available.java
@@ -501,7 +501,7 @@ public class Available extends Task implements Condition {
          * @return true if the value specifies a directory.
          */
         public boolean isDir() {
-            return equalsIgnoreCase("dir", getValue());
+            return "dir".equalsIgnoreCase(getValue());
         }
 
         /**
@@ -510,7 +510,7 @@ public class Available extends Task implements Condition {
          * @return true if the value specifies a file.
          */
         public boolean isFile() {
-            return equalsIgnoreCase("file", getValue());
+            return "file".equalsIgnoreCase(getValue());
         }
 
     }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Ear.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Ear.java
index d8005a195..6e08ecdae 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Ear.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Ear.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
@@ -40,8 +39,6 @@ public class Ear extends Jar {
     private File deploymentDescriptor;
     private boolean descriptorAdded;
     private static final String XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH = "META-INF/application.xml";
-    private static final String XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH_LC =
-        XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
 
     /**
      * Create an Ear task.
@@ -127,8 +124,7 @@ public class Ear extends Jar {
         // attribute - or if it's being added twice, meaning the same
         // file is specified by the "appxml" attribute and in a
         // <fileset> element.
-        String vPathLowerCase = vPath.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        if (XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH_LC.equals(vPathLowerCase))  {
+        if (XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH.equalsIgnoreCase(vPath))  {
             if (deploymentDescriptor == null
                 || !FILE_UTILS.fileNameEquals(deploymentDescriptor, file)
                 || descriptorAdded) {
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/EchoXML.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/EchoXML.java
index e52de7bb8..f5a210f58 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/EchoXML.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/EchoXML.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
 import java.io.FileOutputStream;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -106,8 +105,6 @@ public class EchoXML extends XMLFragment {
     public static class NamespacePolicy extends EnumeratedAttribute {
         private static final String IGNORE = "ignore";
         private static final String ELEMENTS = "elementsOnly";
-        private static final String ELEMENTS_LC =
-            ELEMENTS.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
         private static final String ALL = "all";
 
         public static final NamespacePolicy DEFAULT
@@ -124,14 +121,13 @@ public class EchoXML extends XMLFragment {
         }
 
         public DOMElementWriter.XmlNamespacePolicy getPolicy() {
-            String v = getValue();
-            String s = v != null ? v.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-            if (IGNORE.equals(s)) {
+            String s = getValue();
+            if (IGNORE.equalsIgnoreCase(s)) {
                 return DOMElementWriter.XmlNamespacePolicy.IGNORE;
-            } else if (ELEMENTS_LC.equals(s)) {
+            } else if (ELEMENTS.equalsIgnoreCase(s)) {
                 return
                     DOMElementWriter.XmlNamespacePolicy.ONLY_QUALIFY_ELEMENTS;
-            } else if (ALL.equals(s)) {
+            } else if (ALL.equalsIgnoreCase(s)) {
                 return DOMElementWriter.XmlNamespacePolicy.QUALIFY_ALL;
             } else {
                 throw new BuildException("Invalid namespace policy: " + s);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Jar.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Jar.java
index b9a1128b0..92f6672ef 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Jar.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Jar.java
@@ -37,7 +37,6 @@ import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.StringTokenizer;
 import java.util.TreeMap;
 import java.util.Vector;
@@ -342,7 +341,7 @@ public class Jar extends Zip {
             Enumeration e = zf.entries();
             while (e.hasMoreElements()) {
                 ZipEntry ze = (ZipEntry) e.nextElement();
-                if (ze.getName().toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals(MANIFEST_NAME)) {
+                if (ze.getName().equalsIgnoreCase(MANIFEST_NAME)) {
                     InputStreamReader isr =
                         new InputStreamReader(zf.getInputStream(ze), "UTF-8");
                     return getManifest(isr);
@@ -383,7 +382,7 @@ public class Jar extends Zip {
             Enumeration e = zf.entries();
             while (e.hasMoreElements()) {
                 ZipEntry ze = (ZipEntry) e.nextElement();
-                if (ze.getName().toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals(INDEX_NAME)) {
+                if (ze.getName().equalsIgnoreCase(INDEX_NAME)) {
                     return true;
                 }
             }
@@ -693,12 +692,11 @@ public class Jar extends Zip {
     protected void zipFile(InputStream is, ZipOutputStream zOut, String vPath,
                            long lastModified, File fromArchive, int mode)
         throws IOException {
-        String vPathUC = vPath != null ? vPath.toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-        if (MANIFEST_NAME.equals(vPathUC))  {
+        if (MANIFEST_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(vPath))  {
             if (isFirstPass()) {
                 filesetManifest(fromArchive, is);
             }
-        } else if (INDEX_NAME.equals(vPathUC) && index) {
+        } else if (INDEX_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(vPath) && index) {
             logWhenWriting("Warning: selected " + archiveType
                            + " files include a " + INDEX_NAME + " which will"
                            + " be replaced by a newly generated one.",
@@ -967,7 +965,7 @@ public class Jar extends Zip {
             message.append(br);
             message.append("Location: ").append(getLocation());
             message.append(br);
-            if (strict.getValue().toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals("fail")) {
+            if (strict.getValue().equalsIgnoreCase("fail")) {
                 throw new BuildException(message.toString(), getLocation());
             } else {
                 logWhenWriting(message.toString(), strict.getLogLevel());
@@ -1169,8 +1167,7 @@ public class Jar extends Zip {
                     });
             }
             for (int j = 0; j < resources[0].length; j++) {
-                if (resources[0][j].getName().toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH)
-                    .equals(MANIFEST_NAME)) {
+                if (resources[0][j].getName().equalsIgnoreCase(MANIFEST_NAME)) {
                     manifests[i] = new Resource[] {resources[0][j]};
                     break;
                 }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Javac.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Javac.java
index f4bbbb1ca..87bf8a20b 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Javac.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Javac.java
@@ -24,7 +24,6 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.OutputStream;
 import java.util.HashMap;
 import java.util.Iterator;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -89,8 +88,6 @@ public class Javac extends MatchingTask {
     private static final String MODERN = "modern";
     private static final String CLASSIC = "classic";
     private static final String EXTJAVAC = "extJavac";
-    private static final String EXTJAVAC_LC =
-        EXTJAVAC.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
 
     private static final FileUtils FILE_UTILS = FileUtils.getFileUtils();
 
@@ -682,9 +679,7 @@ public class Javac extends MatchingTask {
      * @return true if this is a forked invocation
      */
     public boolean isForkedJavac() {
-        String c = getCompiler();
-        return fork ||
-            (c != null && EXTJAVAC_LC.equals(c.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH)));
+        return fork || EXTJAVAC.equalsIgnoreCase(getCompiler());
     }
 
     /**
@@ -763,31 +758,29 @@ public class Javac extends MatchingTask {
     }
 
     private String getAltCompilerName(String anImplementation) {
-        anImplementation = anImplementation != null
-            ? anImplementation.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-        if (JAVAC16.equals(anImplementation)
-                || JAVAC15.equals(anImplementation)
-                || JAVAC14.equals(anImplementation)
-                || JAVAC13.equals(anImplementation)) {
+        if (JAVAC16.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)
+                || JAVAC15.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)
+                || JAVAC14.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)
+                || JAVAC13.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)) {
             return MODERN;
         }
-        if (JAVAC12.equals(anImplementation)
-                || JAVAC11.equals(anImplementation)) {
+        if (JAVAC12.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)
+                || JAVAC11.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)) {
             return CLASSIC;
         }
-        if (MODERN.equals(anImplementation)) {
+        if (MODERN.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)) {
             String nextSelected = assumedJavaVersion();
-            if (JAVAC16.equals(nextSelected)
-                    || JAVAC15.equals(nextSelected)
-                    || JAVAC14.equals(nextSelected)
-                    || JAVAC13.equals(nextSelected)) {
+            if (JAVAC16.equalsIgnoreCase(nextSelected)
+                    || JAVAC15.equalsIgnoreCase(nextSelected)
+                    || JAVAC14.equalsIgnoreCase(nextSelected)
+                    || JAVAC13.equalsIgnoreCase(nextSelected)) {
                 return nextSelected;
             }
         }
-        if (CLASSIC.equals(anImplementation)) {
+        if (CLASSIC.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)) {
             return assumedJavaVersion();
         }
-        if (EXTJAVAC_LC.equals(anImplementation)) {
+        if (EXTJAVAC.equalsIgnoreCase(anImplementation)) {
             return assumedJavaVersion();
         }
         return null;
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Manifest.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Manifest.java
index e0eb1c598..9340d8504 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Manifest.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Manifest.java
@@ -513,10 +513,8 @@ public class Manifest {
             Attribute classpathAttribute = null;
             while (e.hasMoreElements()) {
                 String attributeName = (String) e.nextElement();
-                String attributeNameLC =
-                    attributeName.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
                 Attribute attribute = section.getAttribute(attributeName);
-                if (attributeNameLC.equals(ATTRIBUTE_CLASSPATH_LC)) {
+                if (attributeName.equalsIgnoreCase(ATTRIBUTE_CLASSPATH)) {
                     if (classpathAttribute == null) {
                         classpathAttribute = new Attribute();
                         classpathAttribute.setName(ATTRIBUTE_CLASSPATH);
@@ -870,8 +868,7 @@ public class Manifest {
             Section section = new Section();
             if (nextSectionName == null) {
                 Attribute sectionName = new Attribute(line);
-                if (!sectionName.getName().toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH)
-                    .equals(ATTRIBUTE_NAME_LC)) {
+                if (!sectionName.getName().equalsIgnoreCase(ATTRIBUTE_NAME)) {
                     throw new ManifestException("Manifest sections should "
                         + "start with a \"" + ATTRIBUTE_NAME
                         + "\" attribute and not \""
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Recorder.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Recorder.java
index 069100ec4..44d5543ad 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Recorder.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Recorder.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs;
 
 import java.util.Hashtable;
 import java.util.Iterator;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildEvent;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -102,7 +101,7 @@ public class Recorder extends Task implements SubBuildListener {
      * @param action The action for the entry to take: start or stop.
      */
     public void setAction(ActionChoices action) {
-        if (action.getValue().toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals("start")) {
+        if (action.getValue().equalsIgnoreCase("start")) {
             start = Boolean.TRUE;
         } else {
             start = Boolean.FALSE;
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SQLExec.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SQLExec.java
index eb96ec6c2..3fb4077e5 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SQLExec.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/SQLExec.java
@@ -726,8 +726,7 @@ public class SQLExec extends JDBCTask {
                 StringTokenizer st = new StringTokenizer(line);
                 if (st.hasMoreTokens()) {
                     String token = st.nextToken();
-                    if (token != null
-                        && "REM".equals(token.toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH))) {
+                    if ("REM".equalsIgnoreCase(token)) {
                         continue;
                     }
                 }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Tar.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Tar.java
index f82360fea..41a2fd988 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Tar.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Tar.java
@@ -871,35 +871,35 @@ public class Tar extends MatchingTask {
          * @return true if value is "truncate".
          */
         public boolean isTruncateMode() {
-            return equalsIgnoreCase(TRUNCATE, getValue());
+            return TRUNCATE.equalsIgnoreCase(getValue());
         }
 
         /**
          * @return true if value is "warn".
          */
         public boolean isWarnMode() {
-            return equalsIgnoreCase(WARN, getValue());
+            return WARN.equalsIgnoreCase(getValue());
         }
 
         /**
          * @return true if value is "gnu".
          */
         public boolean isGnuMode() {
-            return equalsIgnoreCase(GNU, getValue());
+            return GNU.equalsIgnoreCase(getValue());
         }
 
         /**
          * @return true if value is "fail".
          */
         public boolean isFailMode() {
-            return equalsIgnoreCase(FAIL, getValue());
+            return FAIL.equalsIgnoreCase(getValue());
         }
 
         /**
          * @return true if value is "omit".
          */
         public boolean isOmitMode() {
-            return equalsIgnoreCase(OMIT, getValue());
+            return OMIT.equalsIgnoreCase(getValue());
         }
     }
 
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java
index 6d9bf68af..a4f344ef8 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/Touch.java
@@ -233,8 +233,7 @@ public class Touch extends Task {
         }
         if (dateTime != null && !dateTimeConfigured) {
             long workmillis = millis;
-            if (dateTime != null
-                && "now".equals(dateTime.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH))) {
+            if ("now".equalsIgnoreCase(dateTime)) {
                 workmillis = System.currentTimeMillis();
             } else {
                 DateFormat df = dfFactory.getPrimaryFormat();
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/War.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/War.java
index 6768a1c20..312f56afe 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/War.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/War.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs;
 
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.ZipFileSet;
@@ -61,9 +60,6 @@ public class War extends Jar {
     private static final FileUtils FILE_UTILS = FileUtils.getFileUtils();
     /** path to web.xml file */
     private static final String XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH = "WEB-INF/web.xml";
-    /** lower case version for comparisons */
-    private static final String XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH_LC =
-            XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
 
     /** Constructor for the War Task. */
     public War() {
@@ -178,10 +174,9 @@ public class War extends Jar {
         // not the one specified in the "webxml" attribute - or if
         // it's being added twice, meaning the same file is specified
         // by the "webxml" attribute and in a <fileset> element.
-        String vPathLowerCase = vPath.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
         //by default, we add the file.
         boolean addFile = true;
-        if (XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH_LC.equals(vPathLowerCase)) {
+        if (XML_DESCRIPTOR_PATH.equalsIgnoreCase(vPath)) {
             //a web.xml file was found. See if it is a duplicate or not
             if (addedWebXmlFile != null) {
                 //a second web.xml file, so skip it
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/XSLTProcess.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/XSLTProcess.java
index 8b9a089fb..ad4ba87db 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/XSLTProcess.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/XSLTProcess.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.util.Enumeration;
 import java.util.Iterator;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Vector;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -1367,18 +1366,14 @@ public class XSLTProcess extends MatchingTask implements XSLTLogger {
              */
             public void setDynamicAttribute(String name, String value) throws BuildException {
                 // only 'name' and 'value' exist.
-                String nameLC = name != null
-                    ? name.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-                if ("name".equals(nameLC)) {
+                if ("name".equalsIgnoreCase(name)) {
                     this.name = value;
-                } else if ("value".equals(nameLC)) {
+                } else if ("value".equalsIgnoreCase(name)) {
                     // a value must be of a given type
                     // say boolean|integer|string that are mostly used.
-                    String valueLC = value != null
-                        ? value.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-                    if ("true".equals(valueLC)) {
+                    if ("true".equalsIgnoreCase(value)) {
                         this.value = Boolean.TRUE;
-                    } else if ("false".equals(valueLC)) {
+                    } else if ("false".equalsIgnoreCase(value)) {
                         this.value = Boolean.FALSE;
                     } else {
                         try {
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/compilers/CompilerAdapterFactory.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/compilers/CompilerAdapterFactory.java
index d46dc873b..e934bc727 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/compilers/CompilerAdapterFactory.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/compilers/CompilerAdapterFactory.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 
 package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.compilers;
 
-import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
@@ -99,29 +98,28 @@ public final class CompilerAdapterFactory {
     public static CompilerAdapter getCompiler(String compilerType, Task task,
                                               Path classpath)
         throws BuildException {
-        String compilerTypeLC = compilerType.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("jikes")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("jikes")) {
                 return new Jikes();
             }
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("extjavac")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("extjavac")) {
                 return new JavacExternal();
             }
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("classic")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("javac1.1")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("javac1.2")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("classic")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("javac1.1")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("javac1.2")) {
                 task.log("This version of java does "
                                          + "not support the classic "
                                          + "compiler; upgrading to modern",
                                          Project.MSG_WARN);
-                compilerTypeLC = "modern";
+                compilerType = "modern";
             }
             //on java<=1.3 the modern falls back to classic if it is not found
             //but on java>=1.4 we just bail out early
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("modern")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("javac1.3")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("javac1.4")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("javac1.5")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("javac1.6")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("modern")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("javac1.3")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("javac1.4")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("javac1.5")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("javac1.6")) {
                 // does the modern compiler exist?
                 if (doesModernCompilerExist()) {
                     return new Javac13();
@@ -139,18 +137,18 @@ public final class CompilerAdapterFactory {
                 }
             }
 
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("jvc")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("microsoft")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("jvc")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("microsoft")) {
                 return new Jvc();
             }
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("kjc")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("kjc")) {
                 return new Kjc();
             }
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("gcj")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("gcj")) {
                 return new Gcj();
             }
-            if (compilerTypeLC.equals("sj")
-                || compilerTypeLC.equals("symantec")) {
+            if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("sj")
+                || compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("symantec")) {
                 return new Sj();
             }
             return resolveClassName(compilerType,
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/condition/IsLastModified.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/condition/IsLastModified.java
index 0594a917a..31b0ffa35 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/condition/IsLastModified.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/condition/IsLastModified.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import java.text.DateFormat;
 import java.text.ParseException;
 import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
 import java.util.Date;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
@@ -120,8 +119,7 @@ public class IsLastModified extends ProjectComponent implements Condition {
         if (millis >= 0) {
             return millis;
         }
-        if (dateTime != null
-            && "now".equals(dateTime.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH))) {
+        if ("now".equalsIgnoreCase(dateTime)) {
             return System.currentTimeMillis();
         }
         DateFormat df = dfFactory.getPrimaryFormat();
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ejb/BorlandGenerateClient.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ejb/BorlandGenerateClient.java
index c7c70e27e..392f17a23 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ejb/BorlandGenerateClient.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/ejb/BorlandGenerateClient.java
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@
 package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.ejb;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
@@ -168,7 +167,7 @@ public class BorlandGenerateClient extends Task {
 
         log("client jar file is " + clientjarfile);
 
-        if (mode.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals(FORK_MODE)) {
+        if (mode.equalsIgnoreCase(FORK_MODE)) {
             executeFork();
         } else {
             executeJava();
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/image/Image.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/image/Image.java
index 320ea3325..4b05c5b11 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/image/Image.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/image/Image.java
@@ -408,10 +408,9 @@ public class Image extends MatchingTask {
         if (srcDir == null && destDir == null) {
             throw new BuildException("Specify the destDir, or the srcDir.");
         }
-        String enc = str_encoding.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        if (enc.equals("jpg")) {
+        if (str_encoding.equalsIgnoreCase("jpg")) {
             str_encoding = "JPEG";
-        } else if (enc.equals("tif")) {
+        } else if (str_encoding.equalsIgnoreCase("tif")) {
             str_encoding = "TIFF";
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/jsp/compilers/JspCompilerAdapterFactory.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/jsp/compilers/JspCompilerAdapterFactory.java
index 7b5ea5852..896a7a8d8 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/jsp/compilers/JspCompilerAdapterFactory.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/jsp/compilers/JspCompilerAdapterFactory.java
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@
  */
 package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.jsp.compilers;
 
-import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
@@ -81,12 +80,11 @@ public final class JspCompilerAdapterFactory {
                                                  AntClassLoader loader)
         throws BuildException {
 
-        String compilerTypeLC = compilerType.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        if (compilerTypeLC.equals("jasper")) {
+        if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("jasper")) {
             //tomcat4.0 gets the old mangler
             return new JasperC(new JspNameMangler());
         }
-        if (compilerTypeLC.equals("jasper41")) {
+        if (compilerType.equalsIgnoreCase("jasper41")) {
             //tomcat4.1 gets the new one
             return new JasperC(new Jasper41Mangler());
         }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java
index 71c966da9..e30ae7ce2 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/junit/JUnitTask.java
@@ -39,7 +39,6 @@ import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Properties;
 import java.util.Vector;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.AntClassLoader;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -1078,8 +1077,7 @@ public class JUnitTask extends Task {
      * @return true if the run should be withoutput and error
      */
     private boolean equalsWithOutAndErr(String summaryOption) {
-        return summaryOption != null && "withoutanderr".equals(
-            summaryOption.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH));
+        return "withoutanderr".equalsIgnoreCase(summaryOption);
     }
 
     private void checkIncludeSummary(CommandlineJava cmd) {
@@ -1569,9 +1567,7 @@ public class JUnitTask extends Task {
             if (summary) {
                 JUnitTaskMirror.SummaryJUnitResultFormatterMirror f =
                     delegate.newSummaryJUnitResultFormatter();
-                String s = summaryValue != null
-                    ? summaryValue.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-                f.setWithOutAndErr("withoutanderr".equals(s));
+                f.setWithOutAndErr(equalsWithOutAndErr(summaryValue));
                 delegate.addVmExit(test, f, getDefaultOutput(), message, testCase);
             }
         } finally {
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTP.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTP.java
index 8e7c0bf0d..ee6518d45 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTP.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTP.java
@@ -1536,9 +1536,7 @@ public class FTP extends Task implements FTPTaskConfig {
      * synonym for -1.
      */
     public void setRetriesAllowed(String retriesAllowed) {
-        String r = retriesAllowed != null
-            ? retriesAllowed.toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-        if ("FOREVER".equals(r)) {
+        if ("FOREVER".equalsIgnoreCase(retriesAllowed)) {
             this.retriesAllowed = Retryable.RETRY_FOREVER;
         } else {
             try {
@@ -2571,7 +2569,6 @@ public class FTP extends Task implements FTPTaskConfig {
          */
         public int getAction() {
             String actionL = getValue().toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
             if (actionL.equals("send") || actionL.equals("put")) {
                 return SEND_FILES;
             } else if (actionL.equals("recv") || actionL.equals("get")) {
@@ -2630,7 +2627,6 @@ public class FTP extends Task implements FTPTaskConfig {
          */
         public long getMilliseconds(int action) {
             String granularityU = getValue().toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
             if ("".equals(granularityU)) {
                 if (action == SEND_FILES) {
                     return GRANULARITY_MINUTE;
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTPTask.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTPTask.java
index 7cbfef3f8..eedbb2ac3 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTPTask.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/net/FTPTask.java
@@ -588,9 +588,7 @@ public class FTPTask extends Task implements FTPTaskConfig {
      * synonym for -1.
      */
     public void setRetriesAllowed(String retriesAllowed) {
-        String r = retriesAllowed != null
-            ? retriesAllowed.toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
-        if ("FOREVER".equals(r)) {
+        if ("FOREVER".equalsIgnoreCase(retriesAllowed)) {
             this.retriesAllowed = Retryable.RETRY_FOREVER;
         } else {
             try {
@@ -865,7 +863,6 @@ public class FTPTask extends Task implements FTPTaskConfig {
          */
         public int getAction() {
             String actionL = getValue().toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
             if (actionL.equals("send") || actionL.equals("put")) {
                 return SEND_FILES;
             } else if (actionL.equals("recv") || actionL.equals("get")) {
@@ -924,7 +921,6 @@ public class FTPTask extends Task implements FTPTaskConfig {
          */
         public long getMilliseconds(int action) {
             String granularityU = getValue().toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
             if ("".equals(granularityU)) {
                 if (action == SEND_FILES) {
                     return GRANULARITY_MINUTE;
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Fstat.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Fstat.java
index 709db0bd7..e7fd0580f 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Fstat.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Fstat.java
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.perforce;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.util.Vector;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -84,12 +83,11 @@ public class P4Fstat extends P4Base {
      * @param filter should be one of all|existing|non-existing.
      */
     public void setShowFilter(String filter) {
-        filter = filter.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        if (filter.equals("all")) {
+        if (filter.equalsIgnoreCase("all")) {
             show = SHOW_ALL;
-        } else if (filter.equals("existing")) {
+        } else if (filter.equalsIgnoreCase("existing")) {
             show = SHOW_EXISTING;
-        } else if (filter.equals("non-existing")) {
+        } else if (filter.equalsIgnoreCase("non-existing")) {
             show = SHOW_NON_EXISTING;
         } else {
             throw new BuildException("P4Fstat: ShowFilter should be one of: "
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Label.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Label.java
index bb04bf2d8..0c2edb7e3 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Label.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/perforce/P4Label.java
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.taskdefs.optional.perforce;
 
 import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;
 import java.util.Date;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.StringUtils;
@@ -96,7 +95,7 @@ public class P4Label extends P4Base {
             desc = "AntLabel";
         }
 
-        if (lock != null && !lock.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals("locked")) {
+        if (lock != null && !lock.equalsIgnoreCase("locked")) {
             log("lock attribute invalid - ignoring", Project.MSG_WARN);
         }
 
@@ -137,7 +136,7 @@ public class P4Label extends P4Base {
             Project.MSG_INFO);
 
         //Now lock if required
-        if (lock != null && lock.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals("locked")) {
+        if (lock != null && lock.equalsIgnoreCase("locked")) {
 
             log("Modifying lock status to 'locked'", Project.MSG_INFO);
 
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/pvcs/Pvcs.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/pvcs/Pvcs.java
index 32c6bdeb3..c42f0348f 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/pvcs/Pvcs.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/pvcs/Pvcs.java
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ import java.io.IOException;
 import java.text.MessageFormat;
 import java.text.ParseException;
 import java.util.Enumeration;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Random;
 import java.util.Vector;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -522,7 +521,7 @@ public class Pvcs extends org.apache.tools.ant.Task {
      * @param f String (yes/no)
      */
     public void setForce(String f) {
-        if (f != null && f.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH).equals("yes")) {
+        if (f != null && f.equalsIgnoreCase("yes")) {
             force = "yes";
         } else {
             force = "no";
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/vss/MSVSS.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/vss/MSVSS.java
index 8503ba0df..40d469296 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/vss/MSVSS.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/optional/vss/MSVSS.java
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ import java.text.ParseException;
 import java.util.Calendar;
 import java.util.Date;
 import java.util.GregorianCalendar;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
@@ -517,10 +516,9 @@ public abstract class MSVSS extends Task implements MSVSSConstants {
         if (autoResponse == null) {
             return FLAG_AUTORESPONSE_DEF;
         }
-        autoResponse = autoResponse.toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        if (autoResponse.equals("Y")) {
+        if (autoResponse.equalsIgnoreCase("Y")) {
             return FLAG_AUTORESPONSE_YES;
-        } else if (autoResponse.equals("N")) {
+        } else if (autoResponse.equalsIgnoreCase("N")) {
             return FLAG_AUTORESPONSE_NO;
         } else {
             return FLAG_AUTORESPONSE_DEF;
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/RmicAdapterFactory.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/RmicAdapterFactory.java
index 8be90f937..4a2708c78 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/RmicAdapterFactory.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/taskdefs/rmic/RmicAdapterFactory.java
@@ -23,9 +23,6 @@ import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Path;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.ClasspathUtils;
 
-import java.util.Locale;
-
-
 /**
  * Creates the necessary rmic adapter, given basic criteria.
  *
@@ -96,27 +93,24 @@ public final class RmicAdapterFactory {
     public static RmicAdapter getRmic(String rmicType, Task task,
                                       Path classpath)
         throws BuildException {
-        //convert to lower case in the English locale,
-        String compiler = rmicType.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
         //handle default specially by choosing the sun or kaffe compiler
-        if (DEFAULT_COMPILER.equals(compiler) || compiler.length() == 0) {
-            compiler = KaffeRmic.isAvailable()
+        if (DEFAULT_COMPILER.equalsIgnoreCase(rmicType) || rmicType.length() == 0) {
+            rmicType = KaffeRmic.isAvailable()
                 ? KaffeRmic.COMPILER_NAME
                 : SunRmic.COMPILER_NAME;
         }
-        if (SunRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equals(compiler)) {
+        if (SunRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(rmicType)) {
             return new SunRmic();
-        } else if (KaffeRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equals(compiler)) {
+        } else if (KaffeRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(rmicType)) {
             return new KaffeRmic();
-        } else if (WLRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equals(compiler)) {
+        } else if (WLRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(rmicType)) {
             return new WLRmic();
-        } else if (ForkingSunRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equals(compiler)) {
+        } else if (ForkingSunRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(rmicType)) {
             return new ForkingSunRmic();
-        } else if (XNewRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equals(compiler)) {
+        } else if (XNewRmic.COMPILER_NAME.equalsIgnoreCase(rmicType)) {
             return new XNewRmic();
         }
-        //no match? ask for the non-lower-cased type
+        //no match?
         return resolveClassName(rmicType,
                                 // Memory leak in line below
                                 task.getProject().createClassLoader(classpath));
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/EnumeratedAttribute.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/EnumeratedAttribute.java
index e92dd0ba6..26e794a64 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/EnumeratedAttribute.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/EnumeratedAttribute.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 
 package org.apache.tools.ant.types;
 
-import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 
 /**
@@ -151,12 +150,4 @@ public abstract class EnumeratedAttribute {
         return getValue();
     }
 
-    protected static boolean equalsIgnoreCase(String expected, String actual) {
-        if (expected == null) {
-            return actual == null;
-        }
-        return actual != null && expected.length() == actual.length()
-            && expected.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH)
-            .equals(actual.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH));
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/Arc.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/Arc.java
index 5760f99e6..4ed375189 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/Arc.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/Arc.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import java.awt.BasicStroke;
 import java.awt.Graphics2D;
 import java.awt.geom.Arc2D;
 import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 /**
  * Draw an arc.
@@ -74,12 +73,11 @@ public class Arc extends BasicShape implements DrawOperation {
      * @todo refactor using an EnumeratedAttribute
      */
     public void setType(String strType) {
-        String stype = strType.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        if (stype.equals("open")) {
+        if (strType.equalsIgnoreCase("open")) {
             type = Arc2D.OPEN;
-        } else if (stype.equals("pie")) {
+        } else if (strType.equalsIgnoreCase("pie")) {
             type = Arc2D.PIE;
-        } else if (stype.equals("chord")) {
+        } else if (strType.equalsIgnoreCase("chord")) {
             type = Arc2D.CHORD;
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/ColorMapper.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/ColorMapper.java
index a99e9f0f3..b2e2d2c21 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/ColorMapper.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/optional/image/ColorMapper.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 package org.apache.tools.ant.types.optional.image;
 
 import java.awt.Color;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 /**
  *
@@ -70,33 +69,31 @@ public final class ColorMapper {
      * @todo refactor to use an EnumeratedAttribute (maybe?)
      */
     public static Color getColorByName(String colorName) {
-        colorName = colorName.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
-        if (colorName.equals(COLOR_BLACK)) {
+        if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_BLACK)) {
             return Color.black;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_BLUE)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_BLUE)) {
             return Color.blue;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_CYAN)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_CYAN)) {
             return Color.cyan;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_DARKGRAY) || colorName.equals(COLOR_DARKGREY)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_DARKGRAY) || colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_DARKGREY)) {
             return Color.darkGray;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_GRAY) || colorName.equals(COLOR_GREY)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_GRAY) || colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_GREY)) {
             return Color.gray;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_LIGHTGRAY) || colorName.equals(COLOR_LIGHTGREY)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_LIGHTGRAY) || colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_LIGHTGREY)) {
             return Color.lightGray;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_GREEN)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_GREEN)) {
             return Color.green;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_MAGENTA)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_MAGENTA)) {
             return Color.magenta;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_ORANGE)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_ORANGE)) {
             return Color.orange;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_PINK)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_PINK)) {
             return Color.pink;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_RED)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_RED)) {
             return Color.red;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_WHITE)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_WHITE)) {
             return Color.white;
-        } else if (colorName.equals(COLOR_YELLOW)) {
+        } else if (colorName.equalsIgnoreCase(COLOR_YELLOW)) {
             return Color.yellow;
         }
         return Color.black;
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsRegexpSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsRegexpSelector.java
index 1ca25aea5..4de2725eb 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsRegexpSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsRegexpSelector.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import java.io.BufferedReader;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStreamReader;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Parameter;
@@ -83,9 +82,7 @@ public class ContainsRegexpSelector extends BaseExtendSelector
         if (parameters != null) {
             for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {
                 String paramname = parameters[i].getName();
-                if (paramname != null
-                    && EXPRESSION_KEY.equals(paramname
-                                             .toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH))) {
+                if (EXPRESSION_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setExpression(parameters[i].getValue());
                 } else {
                     setError("Invalid parameter " + paramname);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsSelector.java
index cc8bc1c01..31c5c5a65 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/ContainsSelector.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import java.io.BufferedReader;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStreamReader;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
@@ -113,15 +112,12 @@ public class ContainsSelector extends BaseExtendSelector implements ResourceSele
         if (parameters != null) {
             for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {
                 String paramname = parameters[i].getName();
-                if (paramname != null) {
-                    paramname = paramname.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-                }
-                if (CONTAINS_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                if (CONTAINS_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setText(parameters[i].getValue());
-                } else if (CASE_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (CASE_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setCasesensitive(Project.toBoolean(
                             parameters[i].getValue()));
-                } else if (WHITESPACE_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (WHITESPACE_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setIgnorewhitespace(Project.toBoolean(
                             parameters[i].getValue()));
                 } else {
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DateSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DateSelector.java
index 02b76ba13..76c1d167f 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DateSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DateSelector.java
@@ -171,30 +171,27 @@ public class DateSelector extends BaseExtendSelector {
         if (parameters != null) {
             for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {
                 String paramname = parameters[i].getName();
-                if (paramname != null) {
-                    paramname = paramname.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-                }
-                if (MILLIS_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                if (MILLIS_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     try {
                         setMillis(Long.parseLong(parameters[i].getValue()));
                     } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
                         setError("Invalid millisecond setting "
                                 + parameters[i].getValue());
                     }
-                } else if (DATETIME_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (DATETIME_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setDatetime(parameters[i].getValue());
-                } else if (CHECKDIRS_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (CHECKDIRS_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setCheckdirs(Project.toBoolean(parameters[i].getValue()));
-                } else if (GRANULARITY_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (GRANULARITY_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     try {
                         setGranularity(Integer.parseInt(parameters[i].getValue()));
                     } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
                         setError("Invalid granularity setting "
                             + parameters[i].getValue());
                     }
-                } else if (WHEN_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (WHEN_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setWhen(new TimeComparison(parameters[i].getValue()));
-                } else if (PATTERN_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (PATTERN_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setPattern(parameters[i].getValue());
                 } else {
                     setError("Invalid parameter " + paramname);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DepthSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DepthSelector.java
index 230a162e7..9d6165000 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DepthSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/DepthSelector.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 package org.apache.tools.ant.types.selectors;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.StringTokenizer;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
@@ -95,17 +94,14 @@ public class DepthSelector extends BaseExtendSelector {
         if (parameters != null) {
             for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {
                 String paramname = parameters[i].getName();
-                if (paramname != null) {
-                    paramname = paramname.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-                }
-                if (MIN_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                if (MIN_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     try {
                         setMin(Integer.parseInt(parameters[i].getValue()));
                     } catch (NumberFormatException nfe1) {
                         setError("Invalid minimum value "
                                 + parameters[i].getValue());
                     }
-                } else if (MAX_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (MAX_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     try {
                         setMax(Integer.parseInt(parameters[i].getValue()));
                     } catch (NumberFormatException nfe1) {
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/FilenameSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/FilenameSelector.java
index f7ae5c850..9bc96cdc2 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/FilenameSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/FilenameSelector.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 package org.apache.tools.ant.types.selectors;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Parameter;
@@ -134,17 +133,14 @@ public class FilenameSelector extends BaseExtendSelector {
         if (parameters != null) {
             for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {
                 String paramname = parameters[i].getName();
-                if (paramname != null) {
-                    paramname = paramname.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-                }
-                if (NAME_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                if (NAME_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setName(parameters[i].getValue());
-                } else if (CASE_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (CASE_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setCasesensitive(Project.toBoolean(
                             parameters[i].getValue()));
-                } else if (NEGATE_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (NEGATE_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setNegate(Project.toBoolean(parameters[i].getValue()));
-                } else if (REGEX_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (REGEX_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     setRegex(parameters[i].getValue());
                 } else {
                     setError("Invalid parameter " + paramname);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelector.java
index 184cde9be..3248647f6 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelector.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 package org.apache.tools.ant.types.selectors;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Comparison;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.EnumeratedAttribute;
@@ -170,21 +169,18 @@ public class SizeSelector extends BaseExtendSelector {
         if (parameters != null) {
             for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {
                 String paramname = parameters[i].getName();
-                if (paramname != null) {
-                    paramname = paramname.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-                }
-                if (SIZE_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                if (SIZE_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     try {
                         setValue(Long.parseLong(parameters[i].getValue()));
                     } catch (NumberFormatException nfe) {
                         setError("Invalid size setting "
                                 + parameters[i].getValue());
                     }
-                } else if (UNITS_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (UNITS_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     ByteUnits units = new ByteUnits();
                     units.setValue(parameters[i].getValue());
                     setUnits(units);
-                } else if (WHEN_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                } else if (WHEN_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     SizeComparisons scmp = new SizeComparisons();
                     scmp.setValue(parameters[i].getValue());
                     setWhen(scmp);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/TypeSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/TypeSelector.java
index f8189e12e..33ac443b7 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/TypeSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/TypeSelector.java
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 package org.apache.tools.ant.types.selectors;
 
 import java.io.File;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.EnumeratedAttribute;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Parameter;
@@ -72,10 +71,7 @@ public class TypeSelector extends BaseExtendSelector {
         if (parameters != null) {
             for (int i = 0; i < parameters.length; i++) {
                 String paramname = parameters[i].getName();
-                if (paramname != null) {
-                    paramname = paramname.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-                }
-                if (TYPE_KEY.equals(paramname)) {
+                if (TYPE_KEY.equalsIgnoreCase(paramname)) {
                     FileType t = new FileType();
                     t.setValue(parameters[i].getValue());
                     setType(t);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/modifiedselector/ModifiedSelector.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/modifiedselector/ModifiedSelector.java
index 3f728f9a5..c4d230760 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/modifiedselector/ModifiedSelector.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/modifiedselector/ModifiedSelector.java
@@ -23,7 +23,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.types.selectors.modifiedselector;
 import java.io.File;
 import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.Iterator;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Vector;
 
 // Ant
@@ -721,8 +720,6 @@ public class ModifiedSelector extends BaseExtendSelector
     public void useParameter(Parameter parameter) {
         String key = parameter.getName();
         String value = parameter.getValue();
-        String valueLC =
-            value != null ? value.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH) : null;
         if ("cache".equals(key)) {
             CacheName cn = new CacheName();
             cn.setValue(value);
@@ -737,19 +734,19 @@ public class ModifiedSelector extends BaseExtendSelector
             setComparator(cn);
         } else if ("update".equals(key)) {
             boolean updateValue =
-                ("true".equals(valueLC))
+                ("true".equalsIgnoreCase(value))
                 ? true
                 : false;
             setUpdate(updateValue);
         } else if ("delayupdate".equals(key)) {
             boolean updateValue =
-                ("true".equals(valueLC))
+                ("true".equalsIgnoreCase(value))
                 ? true
                 : false;
             setDelayUpdate(updateValue);
         } else if ("seldirs".equals(key)) {
             boolean sdValue =
-                ("true".equals(valueLC))
+                ("true".equalsIgnoreCase(value))
                 ? true
                 : false;
             setSeldirs(sdValue);
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/LeadPipeInputStream.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/LeadPipeInputStream.java
index 7b5b45cf5..2d58d5b04 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/LeadPipeInputStream.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/LeadPipeInputStream.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.util;
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.PipedInputStream;
 import java.io.PipedOutputStream;
-import java.util.Locale;
 
 import org.apache.tools.ant.ProjectComponent;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Task;
@@ -88,17 +87,14 @@ public class LeadPipeInputStream extends PipedInputStream {
             result = super.read();
         } catch (IOException eyeOhEx) {
             String msg = eyeOhEx.getMessage();
-            if (msg != null) {
-                msg = msg.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-            }
-            if ("write end dead".equals(msg)) {
+            if ("write end dead".equalsIgnoreCase(msg)) {
                 if (super.in > 0 && super.out < super.buffer.length
                     && super.out > super.in) {
                     result = super.buffer[super.out++] & BYTE_MASK;
                 }
             } else {
-                log("error at LeadPipeInputStream.read():  "
-                    + eyeOhEx.getMessage(), Project.MSG_INFO);
+                log("error at LeadPipeInputStream.read():  " + msg,
+                    Project.MSG_INFO);
             }
         }
         return result;
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/optional/JavaxScriptRunner.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/optional/JavaxScriptRunner.java
index e71db2d0a..e89aca7d3 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/optional/JavaxScriptRunner.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/ant/util/optional/JavaxScriptRunner.java
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@ package org.apache.tools.ant.util.optional;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 
 import java.util.Iterator;
-import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.ScriptRunnerBase;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.ReflectUtil;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.util.ReflectWrapper;
@@ -90,7 +89,7 @@ public class JavaxScriptRunner extends ScriptRunnerBase {
             for (Iterator i = getBeans().keySet().iterator(); i.hasNext();) {
                 String key = (String) i.next();
                 Object value = getBeans().get(key);
-                if ("FX".equals(getLanguage().toUpperCase(Locale.ENGLISH))) {
+                if ("FX".equalsIgnoreCase(getLanguage())) {
                     engine.invoke(
                         "put", String.class, key
                         + ":" + value.getClass().getName(),
diff --git a/src/main/org/apache/tools/zip/ZipEncodingHelper.java b/src/main/org/apache/tools/zip/ZipEncodingHelper.java
index 270595679..bf6020456 100644
--- a/src/main/org/apache/tools/zip/ZipEncodingHelper.java
+++ b/src/main/org/apache/tools/zip/ZipEncodingHelper.java
@@ -191,15 +191,10 @@ abstract class ZipEncodingHelper {
      */
     static final String UTF8 = "UTF8";
 
-    /**
-     * name of the encoding UTF-8 used for comparisions.
-     */
-    private static final String UTF8_LC = UTF8.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-
     /**
      * variant name of the encoding UTF-8 used for comparisions.
      */
-    private static final String UTF_DASH_8_LC = "utf-8";
+    private static final String UTF_DASH_8 = "utf-8";
 
     /**
      * name of the encoding UTF-8
@@ -250,7 +245,7 @@ abstract class ZipEncodingHelper {
             // check platform's default encoding
             encoding = System.getProperty("file.encoding");
         }
-        String enc = encoding.toLowerCase(Locale.ENGLISH);
-        return UTF8_LC.equals(enc) || UTF_DASH_8_LC.equals(enc);
+        return UTF8.equalsIgnoreCase(encoding)
+            || UTF_DASH_8.equalsIgnoreCase(encoding);
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/tests/junit/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelectorTest.java b/src/tests/junit/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelectorTest.java
index 52fcf4c50..9dbbb04ae 100644
--- a/src/tests/junit/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelectorTest.java
+++ b/src/tests/junit/org/apache/tools/ant/types/selectors/SizeSelectorTest.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 package org.apache.tools.ant.types.selectors;
 
+import java.util.Locale;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.BuildException;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.Project;
 import org.apache.tools.ant.types.Parameter;
@@ -198,4 +199,45 @@ public class SizeSelectorTest extends BaseSelectorTest {
 
     }
 
+    public void testParameterParsingLowerCase() {
+        testCaseInsensitiveParameterParsing("units");
+    }
+
+    public void testParameterParsingUpperCase() {
+        testCaseInsensitiveParameterParsing("UNITS");
+    }
+
+    public void testParameterParsingLowerCaseTurkish() {
+        Locale l = Locale.getDefault();
+        try {
+            Locale.setDefault(new Locale("tr"));
+            testCaseInsensitiveParameterParsing("units");
+        } finally {
+            Locale.setDefault(l);
+        }
+    }
+
+    public void testParameterParsingUpperCaseTurkish() {
+        Locale l = Locale.getDefault();
+        try {
+            Locale.setDefault(new Locale("tr"));
+            testCaseInsensitiveParameterParsing("UNITS");
+        } finally {
+            Locale.setDefault(l);
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void testCaseInsensitiveParameterParsing(String name) {
+        SizeSelector s = new SizeSelector();
+        Parameter p = new Parameter();
+        p.setName(name);
+        p.setValue("foo");
+        try {
+            s.setParameters(new Parameter[] {p});
+            fail("should have caused an exception");
+        } catch (BuildException be) {
+            assertEquals("foo is not a legal value for this attribute",
+                         be.getMessage());
+        }
+    }
 }