How to use utf-8 characters in a comment in Python source code?

Question

I think that I understand how to create a string that encodes a UTF-8 characters. But, I'm trying to do something a bit different. Is it possible to use UTF-8 characters in a comment in Python source code? And, are there any Python IDEs or source code editors that will recognize the UTF-8 sequences and display the characters correctly?

Answer 1

VS2015 can certainly use UTF-8 files as source code, but it will try to use the default ANSI encoding if you just type a degree sign in source code and your ANSI encoding encodes the character (varies by localized Windows version). Use a tool like Notepad++ to save the source as UTF-8 and VS2015 still detects and reads the file correctly.

The below file was created in Notepad++ and saved as Encoding, UTF-8:

print('\u00b0')  # This is a °.
print('°°°°')    # So are these.

It displays correctly loaded in VS2015 as well.