[Python-Dev] Re: Relaxing Unicode error handling

[Martin v. Loewis]

Aahz wrote:
>>Library writers should avoid using it.  If the application uses it,
>>libraries should not notice, since they won't get exceptions that they
>>should not have gotten in the first place.
> 
> 
> What if a library wants to ensure that it *does* get appropriate
> exceptions so that it can handle them?

It would explicitly need to encode/decode strings as us-ascii,
instead of relying on the default encoding (which it shouldn't do
in the first place).

> Right, but if different parts of an application are turning this off and
> on, you'll get invalid results, such as unexpected exceptions.  The
> question isn't whether Python's internal state will be consistent, but
> whether applications can ensure a consistent state for themselves.

When you turn this on, you will get invalid results, period. This
is precisely what people request.

Regards,
Martin