[Python-Dev] Python-3.0, unicode, and os.environ

[Guido van Rossum]

On Fri, Dec 5, 2008 at 8:57 PM, Tres Seaver <tseaver at palladion.com> wrote:
> Amen!  the idea that paths, environment varioables, and stuff pulled off
> of sockets can be treated as text rather than strings is just wishful
> thinking.

Unfortunately most of the programmers of the world *do* think that
way(*), and it's not easy to wean them off the idea. It's a powerful
meme that you can use your own name as a file name, even if you happen
to be Czech or Vietnamese -- and it's promoted by the two most popular
consumer operating systems.

(*) With the exception of sockets. Sockets are typically dealt with
through protocols and APIs that provide guidance about how to convert
between bytes and strings, and whether that is even a meaningful
operation.

-- 
--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)