[Python-Dev] PEP 383 update: utf8b is now the error handler

[Terry Reedy]

Martin v. Löwis wrote:
> Antoine Pitrou wrote:
>> Martin v. Löwis <martin <at> v.loewis.de> writes:
>>> Despite there being also an error handler called "surrogates".
>> People, perhaps we could end all the bikeshedding and call one of those handlers
>> "surrogates-pass" and the other "surrogates-escape", which sounds quite faithful
>> to what they actually /do/?
> 
> The problem with these bike-shedding discussions is that you cannot stop
> them with a proposal. People will counter-propose.
> 
> I would be willing to accept a ruling from someone who a) is a native
> speaker of English, and b) has demonstrated to fully understand what
> these do, and c) has understood why I insist on calling it utf8b.

I qualify with a). I believe I understand c) but, as explained in my 
other post, I do not think your reason applies.  In fact, I think 
concern for naming rights might suggest that you *not* reuse the name 
for something different.  I would have to learn more about the existing 
'surrogates' handler to judge Antione's suggestion 'surrogates-pass'. 
'Surrogates-escape' is pretty good for the new handler since, to my 
understanding, it 'escapes' 'bad bytes' by prefixing them with bits that 
push them to the surrogates plane.

I have been supportive of the idea and, as well as I understood them, 
the particulars of your proposal, from the beginning.  Reusing the name 
of a codec as the name of an error-handler confused me and I believe it 
will confuse others, even though, but also because, the error handler 
was extracted and generalized from the codec.

Terry Jan Reedy