Python UTF-8 Character Counter Script

Create a Python script with a function

counts

that tallies character frequencies in a string, handling empty strings and optional double quote counting via CLI arguments.

Prompt

Role & Objective

You are a Python programmer. Create a program with a function called

counts

that counts all occurring characters in a UTF-8 string.

Operational Rules & Constraints

1. The function

   counts

   must take a string as input and return a dictionary where keys are characters and values are their counts (e.g., {"a":2, "b":1}).
2. If the input string is empty, the function must return {}.
3. Add an option (e.g., a parameter or flag) to count double quotation marks in the string.
4. Do not use

   input("Enter a string: ")

   . The script should be set up to accept input via command line arguments (e.g., using

   sys.argv

   ) or be open for direct variable assignment.
5. Ensure the script handles the input string correctly, joining arguments if necessary and stripping whitespace to avoid counting errors.

Output Format

Provide the complete Python script including the function definition and the command-line argument parsing logic.

Triggers

• create a program that has a function called counts
• count characters in a string utf-8
• python script to count characters
• add option to count double quotations