[Python-Dev] Import and unicode: part two (original) (raw)

Stephen J. Turnbull stephen at xemacs.org
Mon Jan 24 03:33:28 CET 2011

"Martin v. Löwis" writes:

Actually, as long people only involve Windows, or only involve Mac, it will all work just fine. It's only when they use non-Mac Unix (such as Linux), or try to move files across systems using sub-prime technology (such as your typical Windows zip utility) they will run into problems.

I believe that the kind of thing that Ishimoto-san has in mind is things like "smart cameras" that will upload your photos to your blog with one touch on the cameras screen and other "Web 2.0 for the rest of us" apps. What with the popularity of Linux and *BSD for such sites, it's easy to imagine problems of the kind he describes occurring between those (which will probably be using Shift JIS in Japan) apps and the websites.

Why people with the skills to be actually using Python would have a problem like that, I don't know, but my experience with Japanese vendors is no different from anywhere else: they put the blame for bugs in systems on any convenient component other than their own or close business partners'. Open source is especially convenient because of the NO WARRANTY section prominently displayed in all licenses.

So the more people get confronted with the poor support of non-ASCII file names in tools, the faster the tools will improve. It took PKWARE many years to come up with a reasonable Unicode story - but now it's really the tools that need to catch up, not the spec.

I still agree with this point of view, but there is some scope for discussion of whether these tools should be "included batteries" or not. (Unfortunately I'm not in a position to volunteer to help with them for some time. :-( )

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