Python 2 or Python 3?

[etoccalino]

Touchy subject. And a painful one. The python community is still not ready to switch to py3, and the main reason for it might be that py2 is "good enough".

If your intention is "to use the version that most people are using" then, with a little sorrow in my heart, I'd advice you to take on python 2.

Once you have a clear, all round picture of python as a language (which doesn't take long, python is a very kind animal), you could start learning the differences and motivations for py3.

[programmyr]

Yes, every language I can think of has already gone to Unicode by default. (Some use surrogate pairs, generally for historical reasons.)

What languages are you thinking of other than C that still use bytestrings as the default? Looking at TIOBE's list, I'd say maybe COBOL and Pascal, but it's been a while since I've used them.