[Python-Dev] please consider changing --enable-unicode default to ucs4 (original) (raw)

Antoine Pitrou solipsis at pitrou.net
Tue Sep 29 17:33:19 CEST 2009

Hello,

I've also encountered this trap multiple times. Obviously, the problem is not rebuilding Python which is quick, but to figure out the correct configure option to use (--enable-unicode=ucs4). Others have also spent some time scratching their heads over the strange PyUnicodeUCS4FromUnicode error the misconfiguration results in, as Zooko's links show.

Isn't this overrated?

First, if you have a Python version that has the wrong version, just print out its sys.maxunicode and choose the right version according to that (if sys.maxunicode == 65535, you need to compile an UCS-4 version, otherwise an UCS-2 version).

Second, once you have encountered this issue, you know what you need the subsequent times. There are only two possibilities after all.

If Python can't infer the unicode setting from the width of the platforms wchart, then perhaps it should be mandatory to specify to configure whether you want UCS2 or UCS4? For someone clueless like me, it would be easier to deal with the problem upfront than (much) further down the line.

I'm not sure why someone "clueless" (your word :-)) wants to compile his own Python, though.

Regards

Antoine.

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