path function argument type matches the the operating system's 
API argument type for paths, no conversion is performed rather than conversion 
to a specified encoding such as one of the Unicode encodings. This avoids 
unintended consequences, etc.</p>

<h2><a name="Other-changes">Other changes</a></h2>

<p><b>Uniform hybrid error handling: </b>The hybrid error handling idiom has 
been consistently applied to all applicable functions.</p>

<h2><a name="Acknowledgements">Acknowledgements</a></h2>

<p>Peter D