The problem is that in Python 3 some cases aren't easier, they've become impossible to do properly. Dealing with paths is a good example where Python 3 has created a huge mess. IO specifically stdin/-out/-err is another area in which Python 3 has created massive problems.
Regarding the huge mess, that exists with or without Python 3 if filenames use unknown, incorrect or inconsistent encodings. To treat a path as as text, e.g. to show it to a human or send to another system, you have to know its encoding. Python 3 and GTK (with its
G_FILENAME_ENCODING and G_BROKEN_FILENAMES) make this clear - some other software (like Python 2) just silently uses and propagates the broken data.
