[Python-Dev] Alternative Implementation for PEP 292:SimpleString Substitutions

[Raymond Hettinger]

[MAL]
> Second, it is good design and good practice to store text
> data in Unicode objects, because that's what they were designed for,
> while string objects have always been an abstract container for
storing
> bytes with varying meanings and interpretations. 

IMO, it is subversive to start taking new string functions/methods and
coercing their results to Unicode.  Someday we may be there, Py3.0
perhaps, but str is not yet deprecated.  Until then, a user should
reasonably expect SISO str in, str out.  This is doubly true when the
rest of python makes active efforts to avoid SIUO (see % formatting
and''.join() for example).

Someday Guido may get wild and turn all text uses of str into unicode.
Most likely, it will need a PEP so that all the issues get thought
through and everything gets changed at once.  Slipping this into the
third alpha as if it were part of PEP292 is not a good idea.

The PEP was about simplification.  Tossing in unnecessary unicode
coercions is not in line with that goal.

Does anyone else think this is a crummy idea?
Is everyone ready for unicode coercions to start sprouting everywhere?



Raymond