[Tutor] Confirm that Python 2.6 ftplib does not support Unicode file names? Alternatives?

[Steven D'Aprano]

On Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:51:13 am Lie Ryan wrote:
> On 06/24/10 02:10, python at bdurham.com wrote:
> > Can someone confirm that Python 2.6 ftplib does *NOT* support
> > Unicode file names? Or must Unicode file names be specially
> > encoded in order to be used with the ftplib module?
>
> I don't know the specifics about ftplib, however I believe in most
> file systems, file names are plain byte-strings, i.e. most file
> systems do not handle encoding, they only deal with plain bytes.

That is completely backwards. Most modern file systems use Unicode, not 
bytes.

Windows file systems use Unicode file names:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247(VS.85).aspx

Likewise the Macintosh HFS+ file system also uses Unicode file names:
http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/technotes/tn/tn1150.html

So do UDF, ZDF and many others:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_file_systems

These days, if you're a developer on a non-Linux PC who doesn't need to 
worry about legacy file systems, most file systems you come across will 
be Unicode and not bytes. It's mostly Linux developers who have to deal 
with byte file names.



-- 
Steven D'Aprano