[XML-SIG] Re: [I18n-sig] Re: [Python-Dev] Unicode debate

[Neil Hodgson]

   I'm dropping in a bit late in this thread but can the current problem be
summarised in an example as "how is 'literal' interpreted here"?

s = aUnicodeStringFromSomewhere
DoSomething(s + "<literal>")

   The two options being that literal is either assumed to be encoded in
Latin-1 or UTF-8. I can see some arguments for both sides.

Latin-1: more current code was written in a European locale with an implicit
assumption that all string handling was Latin-1. Current editors are more
likely to be displaying literal as it is meant to be interpreted.

UTF-8: all languages can be written in UTF-8 and more recent editors can
display this correctly. Thus people using non-Roman alphabets can write code
which is interpreted as is seen with no need to remember to call conversion
functions.

   Neil