Index: Misc/NEWS
===================================================================
--- Misc/NEWS	(revision 67310)
+++ Misc/NEWS	(working copy)
@@ -56,6 +56,12 @@
 
 - Issue #1656675: Register a drop handler for .py* files on Windows.
 
+Docs
+-----
+
+- Document that the various modules in the dbm package store keys and values as
+  bytes, converting to the default encoding when strings are used.
+
 Tools/Demos
 -----------
 
Index: Doc/library/dbm.rst
===================================================================
--- Doc/library/dbm.rst	(revision 67308)
+++ Doc/library/dbm.rst	(working copy)
@@ -52,7 +52,9 @@
 The object returned by :func:`open` supports most of the same functionality as
 dictionaries; keys and their corresponding values can be stored, retrieved, and
 deleted, and the :keyword:`in` operator and the :meth:`keys` method are
-available.  Keys and values must always be strings.
+available. Key and values are always stored as bytes. This means that when
+strings are used they are implicitly converted to the default encoding before
+being stored.
 
 The following example records some hostnames and a corresponding title,  and
 then prints out the contents of the database::
@@ -63,9 +65,15 @@
    db = dbm.open('cache', 'c')
 
    # Record some values
+   db[b'hello'] = b'there'
    db['www.python.org'] = 'Python Website'
    db['www.cnn.com'] = 'Cable News Network'
 
+   # Note that the keys are considered bytes now.
+   assert db[b'www.python.org'] == b'Python Website'
+   # Notice how the value is now in bytes.
+   assert db['www.cnn.com'] == b'Cable News Network'
+
    # Loop through contents.  Other dictionary methods
    # such as .keys(), .values() also work.
    for k, v in db.iteritems():
@@ -102,7 +110,8 @@
 
 The :mod:`dbm.gnu` module provides an interface to the GNU DBM library.
 ``gdbm`` objects behave like mappings (dictionaries), except that keys and
-values are always strings.  Printing a :mod:`dbm.gnu` object doesn't print the
+values are always converted to bytes before storing.  Printing a :mod:`dbm.gnu`
+object doesn't print the
 keys and values, and the :meth:`items` and :meth:`values` methods are not
 supported.
 
@@ -203,8 +212,8 @@
 
 The :mod:`dbm.ndbm` module provides an interface to the Unix "(n)dbm" library.
 Dbm objects behave like mappings (dictionaries), except that keys and values are
-always strings. Printing a dbm object doesn't print the keys and values, and the
-:meth:`items` and :meth:`values` methods are not supported.
+always stored as bytes. Printing a dbm object doesn't print the keys and
+values, and the :meth:`items` and :meth:`values` methods are not supported.
 
 This module can be used with the "classic" ndbm interface, the BSD DB
 compatibility interface, or the GNU GDBM compatibility interface. On Unix, the
@@ -271,7 +280,7 @@
 The :mod:`dbm.dumb` module provides a persistent dictionary-like interface which
 is written entirely in Python.  Unlike other modules such as :mod:`gdbm` no
 external library is required.  As with other persistent mappings, the keys and
-values must always be strings.
+values are always stored as bytes.
 
 The module defines the following:
 
Index: Lib/dbm/dumb.py
===================================================================
--- Lib/dbm/dumb.py	(revision 67310)
+++ Lib/dbm/dumb.py	(working copy)
@@ -169,8 +169,10 @@
             key = key.encode('utf-8')
         elif not isinstance(key, (bytes, bytearray)):
             raise TypeError("keys must be bytes or strings")
-        if not isinstance(val, (bytes, bytearray)):
-            raise TypeError("values must be bytes")
+        if isinstance(val, str):
+            val = val.encode('utf-8')
+        elif not isinstance(val, (bytes, bytearray)):
+            raise TypeError("values must be bytes or strings")
         if key not in self._index:
             self._addkey(key, self._addval(val))
         else:
Index: Lib/test/test_dbm_dumb.py
===================================================================
--- Lib/test/test_dbm_dumb.py	(revision 67310)
+++ Lib/test/test_dbm_dumb.py	(working copy)
@@ -115,6 +115,7 @@
         self.init_db()
         f = dumbdbm.open(_fname)
         f['\u00fc'] = b'!'
+        f['1'] = 'a'
         f.close()
         f = dumbdbm.open(_fname, 'r')
         self.assert_('\u00fc' in f)
Index: Lib/test/test_dbm_gnu.py
===================================================================
--- Lib/test/test_dbm_gnu.py	(revision 67308)
+++ Lib/test/test_dbm_gnu.py	(working copy)
@@ -20,9 +20,11 @@
         self.assertEqual(self.g.keys(), [])
         self.g['a'] = 'b'
         self.g['12345678910'] = '019237410982340912840198242'
+        self.g[b'bytes'] = b'data'
         key_set = set(self.g.keys())
         self.assertEqual(key_set, set([b'a', b'12345678910']))
         self.assert_(b'a' in self.g)
+        self.assertEqual(self.g[b'bytes'], b'data')
         key = self.g.firstkey()
         while key:
             self.assert_(key in key_set)
Index: Lib/test/test_dbm_ndbm.py
===================================================================
--- Lib/test/test_dbm_ndbm.py	(revision 67308)
+++ Lib/test/test_dbm_ndbm.py	(working copy)
@@ -20,9 +20,11 @@
         self.d = dbm.ndbm.open(self.filename, 'c')
         self.assert_(self.d.keys() == [])
         self.d['a'] = 'b'
+        self.d[b'bytes'] = b'data'
         self.d['12345678910'] = '019237410982340912840198242'
         self.d.keys()
         self.assert_(b'a' in self.d)
+        self.assertEqual(self.d[b'bytes'], b'data')
         self.d.close()
 
     def test_modes(self):
Index: Modules/_gdbmmodule.c
===================================================================
--- Modules/_gdbmmodule.c	(revision 67308)
+++ Modules/_gdbmmodule.c	(working copy)
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@
 
     if (!PyArg_Parse(v, "s#", &krec.dptr, &krec.dsize) ) {
         PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-                        "gdbm mappings have string indices only");
+                        "gdbm mappings have bytes or string indices only");
         return -1;
     }
     if (dp->di_dbm == NULL) {
@@ -160,7 +160,7 @@
     else {
         if (!PyArg_Parse(w, "s#", &drec.dptr, &drec.dsize)) {
             PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-                            "gdbm mappings have byte string elements only");
+                            "gdbm mappings have byte or string elements only");
             return -1;
         }
         errno = 0;
Index: Modules/_dbmmodule.c
===================================================================
--- Modules/_dbmmodule.c	(revision 67308)
+++ Modules/_dbmmodule.c	(working copy)
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@
 	
         if ( !PyArg_Parse(v, "s#", &krec.dptr, &tmp_size) ) {
 		PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-				"dbm mappings have string keys only");
+				"dbm mappings have bytes or string keys only");
 		return -1;
 	}
 	krec.dsize = tmp_size;
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@
 	} else {
 		if ( !PyArg_Parse(w, "s#", &drec.dptr, &tmp_size) ) {
 			PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError,
-			     "dbm mappings have byte string elements only");
+			     "dbm mappings have byte or string elements only");
 			return -1;
 		}
 		drec.dsize = tmp_size;