Re: [xml-dev] [Summary] Why is Encoding Metadata (e.g. encoding="UTF-8")put

• From: richard@... (Richard Tobin)
• To: xml-dev@...
• Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 12:43:58 +0100 (BST)

In article <46F3929F.3020903@...> you write:
>The tip for parsers is that when a strategy (BOM and others as specified 
>in the spec., or some other hazardous heuristic) lead to <?xml 
>encoding="XXX"?>, then XXX can be applied safely

I suppose it would be possible to construct an encoding whose name was
such that when misinterpreted as ascii it appeared to be "utf-8".
For example, suppose it was called "qyz-8", and was identical to
utf-8 except that u and q, t and y, and z and f were exchanged.
Then the qyz-8 string

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="qyz-8"?>

would be misinterpreted as

  <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

when read as ascii or utf-8.

-- Richard
-- 
"Consideration shall be given to the need for as many as 32 characters
in some alphabets" - X3.4, 1963.