文字列を扱う上では圧倒的に楽。rubyならもっと楽な気もするけど...。
[python2.7.6]
>>> ord("a") 97 >>> ord(u"a") 97 >>> ord("あ") Traceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module> TypeError: ord() expected a character, but string of length 3 found >>> ord(u"あ") 12354 >>> ord("ø") Traceback (most recent call last): File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module> TypeError: ord() expected a character, but string of length 2 found >>> ord(u"ø") 248
[python3.5.1]
>>> ord("a") 97 >>> ord(u"a") 97 >>> ord("あ") 12354 >>> ord(u"あ") 12354 >>> ord("ø") 248 >>> ord(u"ø") 248
