[Python-Dev] getting rid of confusing "expected a character bufferobject" messages

[Terry Reedy]

"Fredrik Lundh" <fredrik at pythonware.com> wrote in message 
news:e59sil$1l2$1 at sea.gmane.org...
> several string methods accepts either strings or objects that support
> the buffer api, and ends up raising a "expected a character buffer
> object" error if you pass in something else.  this isn't exactly helpful
> for non-experts -- the term "character buffer object" doesn't appear in
> any python tutorials I've seen.
>
>     >>> "x".find(1)
>     Traceback (most recent call last):
>       File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
>     TypeError: expected a character buffer object
>
>
> I think should be fixed, but I cannot make up my mind on what's the best

'expected a string or character buffer' would be an improvement.

tjr