Python Pickle: 'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0x80 in position 0

Pickle is a Python module that allows for the serialization and de-serialization of Python objects. It is often used for data storage and transfer between different systems.

However, when using the Pickle module with an 'ascii' codec, you may encounter the following error message:

'ascii' codec can't decode byte 0x80 in position 0: ordinal not in range(128)

This error message indicates that the 'ascii' codec is not able to decode the byte at position 0 of the pickled object because it is not within the range of 128 ASCII characters.

To solve this issue, you can use a different codec such as 'utf-8' or 'latin1'. For example, instead of using:

import pickle

with open('file.pkl', 'rb') as f:
    data = pickle.load(f, encoding='ascii')

You can use:

import pickle

with open('file.pkl', 'rb') as f:
    data = pickle.load(f, encoding='utf-8')

Or:

import pickle

with open('file.pkl', 'rb') as f:
    data = pickle.load(f, encoding='latin1')

By using a different codec, you can successfully decode the pickled object and avoid the 'ascii' codec error.

It is also worth noting that when using the Pickle module, it is important to use a specific protocol version to ensure compatibility between different Python versions. The default protocol version is usually sufficient, but in some cases, specifying a protocol version can be useful. You can specify the protocol version when pickling an object as follows:

import pickle

data = {'name': 'John', 'age': 30}

with open('file.pkl', 'wb') as f:
    pickle.dump(data, f, protocol=pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL)

By specifying the protocol version as pickle.HIGHEST_PROTOCOL, the pickled object is guaranteed to be compatible with the highest protocol version supported by the current Python version.

In summary, the 'ascii' codec error when using the Pickle module can be resolved by using a different codec such as 'utf-8' or 'latin1', and specifying a protocol version can ensure compatibility between different Python versions.