> Because that's how ASCII is defined. > Because that's how ASCII is defined. ASCII is a 7-bit code.
Then why can't python use another default encoding internally range(256)? > Python refuses to guess and tries the lowest common denominator -- ASCII -- > instead. That's the problem. ASCII is INCOMPLETE! If Python choose another default encoding which handles range(256), 80% of python unicode encoding problems are gone. It's not HARD to process unicode, it's just python & python community refuse to correct it. > stop dreaming of a magic solution It's not 'magic' it's a BUG. Just print 0x7F to 0xFF to console, what's wrong???? > Isn't that more or less the same as telling the OP to use unicode() instead > of str()? sockets could handle str() only. If you throw unicode objects to a socket, it will automatically call str() and cause an error. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
