This does make it look rather as though bytes == str was a decision whose consequences weren't fully appreciated before implementation.
Was this horror anticipated? regards Steve -------- Original Message -------- Subject: In Python 2.6, bytes is str Date: Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:30:17 -0700 From: Bryan Olson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: at&t http://my.att.net/ To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Newsgroups: gmane.comp.python.general Python 3 has the 'bytes' type, which the string type I've long wanted in various languages. Among other advantages, it is immutable, and therefore bytes objects can be dict keys. There's a mutable version too, called "bytearray". In Python 2.6, the name 'bytes' is defined, and bound to str. The 2.6 assignment presents some pitfalls. Be aware. Consider constructing a bytes object as: b = bytes([68, 255, 0]) In Python 3.x, len(b) will be 3, which feels right. In Python 2.6, len(b) will be 12, because b is the str, '[68, 255, 0]'. I'm thinking I should just avoid using 'bytes' in Python 2.6. If there's another Python release between 2.6 and 3.gold, I'd advocate removing the pre-defined 'bytes', or maybe defining it as something else. -- --Bryan -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list -- Steve Holden +1 571 484 6266 +1 800 494 3119 Holden Web LLC http://www.holdenweb.com/ _______________________________________________ Python-Dev mailing list Python-Dev@python.org http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-dev Unsubscribe: http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com
