How to Use UTF-8 Strings in Python 2 Source Code?

Encoding UTF-8 Strings in Python Source

One may encounter a syntax error when using Unicode characters in Python 2 source code without declaring the encoding. This is because Python 2 uses ASCII as the default source encoding.

To enable the use of UTF-8 strings in Python 2, declare the encoding in the source code header:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

This directive, defined in PEP 0263, instructs Python to interpret the source code as UTF-8.

Once the encoding is declared, Unicode characters can be used in strings as shown:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

u = 'idzie wąż wąską dróżką'
uu = u.decode('utf8')
s = uu.encode('cp1250')
print(s)

In Python 3, UTF-8 is the default source encoding, so this step is unnecessary. Unicode characters can be used directly in source code without any explicit encoding declaration.

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