[Python-Dev] PEP-393/PEP-3118: unicode format specifiers

Tue Mar 6 17:04:47 CET 2012

Hello,
In the array module the 'u' specifier previously meant "2-bytes, on wide
builds 4-bytes". Currently in 3.3 the 'u' specifier is mapped to UCS4.
I think it would be nice for Python3.3 to implement the PEP-3118
suggestion:
'c' -> UCS1
'u' -> UCS2
'w' -> UCS4
Actually we could even add 'a' -> ASCII, then a unicode object could
be a buffer provider that gives the correct view according to the
maxchar in the buffer. This opens the possibility for strongly typed
memoryviews of strings. Not sure if this is useful, just an idea.
Stefan Krah