[Python-Dev] PEP 263 considered faulty (for some Japanese) (original) (raw)

Guido van Rossum guido@python.org
Tue, 12 Mar 2002 08:33:50 -0500

Please note that u'' is interpreted just literally and we cannot put Japanese characters in string literals legally for now anyway.

Would you like to be able to? The PEP will allow this -- that's its whole point!

> I think I can propose a compromise though: there may be two default > encodings, one used for Python source code, and one for data. > Normally, a single default encoding is used for both cases, but it is > possible to specify two different defaults, and then persons who like > UTF-16 can set ASCII as the default source encoding but UTF-16 as the > default data encoding.

It sounds very nice. I understand that the default data encoding will be applied to what from file objects. It must be the only(?) satisfying solution if the default source encoding is to be set in site.py. # Or else we should give up the default encoding for data...

I would strongly encourage the latter. Are you really sure that there isn't a better way to avoid having to type the encoding name all the time? E.g. define your own helper functions?

I'm sorry for the ambiguity. I proposed ASCII as the minimum request. I'd hope UTF-8.

I will ignore the rest of your message, which is just repeating age-old arguments why we should use UTF-8. We have considered this carefully in the past, and rejected the idea. I see nothing new in your argument.

And yes, using ASCII is unfair to all non-English speakers. But Python uses English keywords anyway; I don't think we should strive for total cultural relativism, and it's certainly not a fight I feel the desire to fight for now.

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)