I'd post a SF bug but it keeps insisting I log in, even after I have already. There's a bug, either in the code or docs for PyUnicode_FromEncodedObject. The docs read: "Unicode objects are passed back as-is with incremented refcount. Note: These cannot be decoded; passing a non-NULL value for encoding will result in a TypeError." 'tain't so; the following shows that the error is unconditional. if (obj == NULL) { PyErr_BadInternalCall(); return NULL; } #if 0 /* For b/w compatibility we also accept Unicode objects provided that no encodings is given and then redirect to PyObject_Unicode() which then applies the additional logic for Unicode subclasses. NOTE: This API should really only be used for object which represent *encoded* Unicode ! */ if (PyUnicode_Check(obj)) { if (encoding) { PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "decoding Unicode is not supported"); return NULL; } return PyObject_Unicode(obj); } #else if (PyUnicode_Check(obj)) { PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "decoding Unicode is not supported"); return NULL; } #endif -- Dave Abrahams Boost Consulting www.boost-consulting.com