[Python-Dev] unicode imports

[Kristján V. Jónsson]

I don't have specific information on the machines.  We didn´t try very hard to get things to work with 2.3 since we simply assumed it would work automatically when we upgraded to a more mature 2.4.
I could try to get more info, but it would be 2.3 specific.  Have there been any changes since then?

Note that it may not go into program files at all.  Someone may want to install his modules in a folder named in the honour of his mother.

Also, I really would like to see a general solution that doesn´t assume that the path name can somhow be transmuted to an ascii name.  Users are unpredictable.  When you have a wide distribution  , you come up against all kinds of problems (Currently we have around 500.000 users in china.) 
Also, relying on some locale settings is not acceptable.  My machine here has the icelandic locale.  Yet, I need to be able to set up and use a chinese install.  Likewise, many machines in china will have an english locale.  A default encoding and locale is essentially an evil hack in our increasingly global environment.  We have converted more or less our entire code base to unicode because keeping track of encoded strings is simply unworkable in a large project.

Funny that no other platforms could benefit from a unicode import path.  Does that mean that windows will reign supreme?  Please explain.

Cheers,

Kristján

-----Original Message-----
From: "Martin v. Löwis" [mailto:martin at v.loewis.de] 
Sent: 17. júní 2006 08:42
To: Kristján V. Jónsson
Cc: Python Dev
Subject: Re: [Python-Dev] unicode imports

Kristján V. Jónsson wrote:
> The standard install path in chinese distributions can be with a 
> non-ANSI path, and installing an embedded python application there 
> will break it.

I very much doubt this. On a Chinese system, the Program Files folder likely has a non-*ASCII* name, but it will have a fine *ANSI* name, as the ANSI code page on that system should be either 936 (simplified
chinese) or 950 (traditional chinese) - unless the system is misconfigured.

Can you please report what the path is, what the precise name of the operating system is, and what the system locale and the system code page are?

> A completely parallel implementation on the sys.path[i] level?

You should also take a look at what the 8.3 name of the path is.
I really cannot believe that the path is unaccessible to DOS programs.

> Are there other platforms beside Windows that would profit from this?

No.

Regards,
Martin