[Python-Dev] Re: [XML-SIG] Python 1.6a2 Unicode experiences?

[Christopher Petrilli]

Paul Prescod [paul@prescod.net] wrote:
> > I'm also convinced that the majority of Python scripts won't need
> > to work in Unicode.  
> 
> Anything working with XML will need to be Unicode. Anything working with
> the Win32 API (especially COM) will want to do Unicode. Over time the
> entire Web infrastructure will move to Unicode. Anything written in
> JPython pretty much MOST use Unicode (doesn't it?).

I disagree with this.  Unicode has been a very long time, and it's not 
been adopted by a lot of people for a LOT of very valid reasons. 

> > Even working with exotic languages, there is always a native 
> > 8-bit encoding.  
> 
> Unicode has many encodings: Shift-JIS, Big-5, EBCDIC ... You can use
> 8-bit encodings of Unicode if you want.

Um, if you go:

    JIS -> Unicode -> JIS

you don't get the same thing out that you put in (at least this is
what I've been told by a lot of Japanese developers), and therefore
it's not terribly popular because of the nature of the Japanese (and
Chinese) langauge. 

My experience with Unicode is that a lot of Western people think it's
the answer to every problem asked, while most asian language people
disagree vehemently.  This says the problem isn't solved yet, even if
people wish to deny it.

Chris
-- 
| Christopher Petrilli
| petrilli@amber.org