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

[Guido van Rossum]

> Please note that
> u'<whatever-in-ascii>' 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/)