[Python-ideas] Deprecating rarely used str methods

[Andrew Barnert]

On Aug 11, 2013, at 23:10, Benjamin Peterson <benjamin at python.org> wrote:

> Andrew Barnert <abarnert at ...> writes:
> 
>> 
>> On Aug 11, 2013, at 20:32, Benjamin Peterson <benjamin <at> python.org> wrote:
>> 
>>> Serhiy Storchaka <storchaka <at> ...> writes:
>>> 
>>>> str.swapcase() is just not needed.
>>> 
>>> I would quite love to get rid of this method, since it's basically useless
>>> and wrong on non-ASCII strings.
>> 
>> No it isn't.
> 
> I realize it "handles" non-ASCII characters, but I claim there is no
> sensical behavior.

So you want Python to not follow Unicode in general, or just in case mapping, or just in this one function (leaving upper, lower, etc. alone)?

Out of curiosity, what language do you use that has no sensible behavior? Most scripts either have sensible case rules, or just don't have cases (so the function is an obvious no-op). I know some people think Unicode chose the _wrong_ rule for their script (e.g., the Turkish i mentioned earlier--even if it is what most Turkish computer users wanted, there are purists who insist it should work properly, or that Turkish dotted i and dotless I should be separate characters from their Latin equivalents). But that's not the same as saying there _are_ no good rules for their script.