> Python 3 doesn't handle Unicode any better than Python 2, it just made it the default string. In all other aspects the situation has stayed as bad as it was in Python 2 or has gotten significantly worse.
Maybe this has been your experience, but it hasn't been mine. Using Python 3 was the single best decision I've made in developing a multilingual website (we support English/German/Spanish). There's not a ton of local IO, but I've upgraded all my personal projects to Python 3.
Your complaint, and the complaint of the OP, seems to be basically, "It's different and I have to change my code, therefore it's bad."
My complaint is not that I have to change my code. My complaint is that Python 3 is an attempt at breaking as little compatibilty with Python 2 as possible while making Unicode "easy" to use. They failed to achieve both goals.
Now we have a Python 3 that's incompatible to Python 2 but provides almost no significant benefit, solves none of the large well known problems and introduces quite a few new problems.
I have to disagree, I think using Unicode in Python 3 is currently easier than in any language I've used. It certainly isn't perfect, but it's better than the alternatives. I certainly have spent very little time struggling with it.
Maybe this has been your experience, but it hasn't been mine. Using Python 3 was the single best decision I've made in developing a multilingual website (we support English/German/Spanish). There's not a ton of local IO, but I've upgraded all my personal projects to Python 3.
Your complaint, and the complaint of the OP, seems to be basically, "It's different and I have to change my code, therefore it's bad."