Python 3.2 has some deadly infection

[Gregory Ewing]

Steven D'Aprano wrote:
> The whole concept of stdin and stdout is based on the idea of having a 
> console to read from and write to.

Not really; stdin and stdout are frequently connected to
files, or pipes to other processes. The console, if it
exists, just happens to be a convenient default value for
them. Even on a system without a console, they're still
a useful abstraction.

But we were talking about encodings, and whether stdin
and stdout should be text or binary by default. Well,
one of the design principles behind unix is to make use
of plain text wherever possible. Not just for stuff
meant to be seen on the screen, but for stuff kept in
files as well.

As a result, most unix programs, most of the time, deal
with text on stdin and stdout. So, it makes sense for
them to be text by default. And wherever there's text,
there needs to be an encoding. This is true whether
a console is involved or not.

-- 
Greg