Path: csiph.com!usenet.pasdenom.info!news.albasani.net!rt.uk.eu.org!newsfeed.xs4all.nl!newsfeed2a.news.xs4all.nl!xs4all!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail Return-Path: X-Original-To: python-list@python.org Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org X-Spam-Status: OK 0.016 X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.97; '*S*': 0.00; 'inspired': 0.05; 'ascii': 0.09; 'excluding': 0.09; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'warn': 0.09; 'python': 0.11; 'finney': 0.16; 'headaches': 0.16; 'ignoring': 0.16; 'proportion': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'subject:Unicode': 0.16; 'thereby': 0.16; 'unicode,': 0.16; 'unicode.': 0.16; 'unicode?': 0.16; 'prevent': 0.16; 'language': 0.16; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; 'rapidly': 0.24; "world's": 0.24; 'certain': 0.27; 'header:X-Complaints-To:1': 0.27; 'point': 0.28; "doesn't": 0.30; 'easier': 0.31; 'that.': 0.31; 'url:wiki': 0.31; 'diversity': 0.31; 'url:wikipedia': 0.31; 'writes:': 0.31; 'probably': 0.32; 'supposed': 0.32; 'older': 0.33; 'programmers': 0.33; 'except': 0.35; 'something': 0.35; 'building': 0.35; 'there': 0.35; 'described': 0.36; 'reflect': 0.36; 'url:org': 0.36; 'ben': 0.38; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.38; 'fact': 0.38; 'that,': 0.38; 'little': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'days': 0.60; 'course.': 0.60; 'most': 0.60; 'further': 0.61; 'back': 0.62; 'story': 0.63; 'such': 0.63; 'reached': 0.63; 'our': 0.64; 'started.': 0.68; 'fantastic': 0.74; '\xe2\x80\x93': 0.77; '100%': 0.77; 'article': 0.77; "'it": 0.84; '8bit%:16': 0.84; 'received:125': 0.84; 'skip:\xe2 30': 0.91 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ To: python-list@python.org From: Ben Finney Subject: Re: Unicode 7 Date: Fri, 02 May 2014 12:39:44 +1000 References: <5361d4f9$0$11109$c3e8da3@news.astraweb.com> <82067b83-a6f5-4b16-b012-385535ea5607@googlegroups.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: jigong.madmonks.org X-Public-Key-ID: 0xAC128405 X-Public-Key-Fingerprint: 517C F14B B2F3 98B0 CB35 4855 B8B2 4C06 AC12 8405 X-Public-Key-URL: http://www.benfinney.id.au/contact/bfinney-pubkey.asc X-Post-From: Ben Finney User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/23.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:c4crjk9/RAdfw0KslYgORY1of7o= X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15 Precedence: list List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Newsgroups: comp.lang.python Message-ID: Lines: 35 NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6 X-Trace: 1398998400 news.xs4all.nl 2905 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:37112 X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:70839 Rustom Mody writes: > Yes, the headaches go a little further back than Unicode. Okay, so can you change your article to reflect the fact that the headaches both pre-date Unicode, and are made much easier by Unicode? > There is a certain large old book... Ah yes, the neo-Sumerian story “Enmerkar_and_the_Lord_of_Aratta” . Probably inspired by stories older than that, of course. > In which is described the building of a 'tower that reached up to heaven'... > At which point 'it was decided'¶ to do something to prevent that. > And our headaches started. And other myths with fantastic reasons for the diversity of language . > I never knew of any of this in the good ol days of ASCII Yes, by ignoring all other writing systems except one's own – and thereby excluding most of the world's people – the system can be made simpler. Hopefully the proportion of programmers who still feel they can make such a parochial choice is rapidly shrinking. -- \ “Why doesn't Python warn that it's not 100% perfect? Are people | `\ just supposed to “know” this, magically?” —Mitya Sirenef, | _o__) comp.lang.python, 2012-12-27 | Ben Finney