python 3.3 repr

[Robin Becker]

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>
> Dealing with bytes and Unicode is complicated, and the 2->3 transition is not easy, but let's please not spread the misunderstanding that somehow the Flexible String Representation is at fault.  However you store Unicode code points, they are different than bytes, and it is complex having to deal with both.  You can't somehow make the dichotomy go away, you can only choose where you want to think about it.
>
> --Ned.
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I don't think that's what I said; the flexible representation is just an added 
complexity that has come about because of the wish to store strings in a compact 
way. The requirement for such complexity is the unicode type itself (especially 
the storage requirements) which necessitated some remedial action.

There's no point in fighting the change to using unicode. The type wasn't 
required for any technical reason as other languages didn't go this route and 
are reasonably ok, but there's no doubt the change made things more difficult.
-- 
Robin Becker