[mjevans]

When people say they should be removed they mean primitive operations (like a standard 'length' attribute/function, or an array index operator) shouldn't exist for that type.

Just like it is better to have something like .nth(X) as a function for stepping to a numbered node, so to does a language string demand operations like .nth_printing(X) .nth_rune(X) and .nth_octet(X); to make it clear to any programmer working with that code what the intent is.