Hi everyone! I'm new here and could use some help with character encoding. I'm working on ensuring that all my source files, configuration files, and scripts (.sh, .js, .py, etc.) are encoded in pure UTF-8 text. This means no byte-order marks (BOMs), no null bytes, and no hidden characters like non-breaking spaces or zero-width characters. It's important for me that no ASCII characters are included, only the valid UTF-8 range, since I want everything strictly formatted for auditing purposes. I'm currently using Ubuntu 22.04, and while I know commands like "file --mime" and "iconv -f" can show ASCII content as UTF-8, it's tough to verify that everything is genuinely pure UTF-8 and not just pretending to be. Any tips on how I can guarantee this? Thanks!
5 Answers
Just to clear it up: ASCII is indeed a part of UTF-8. Basic ASCII characters (like 'a' and 'A') are represented in the same way in UTF-8, meaning they are literally the same in terms of byte representation. If you're planning to avoid all ASCII characters, it could get tricky because you'd be excluding a lot of valid characters. It might help to figure out exactly which non-ASCII UTF-8 characters you want to use, but think about the limitations you're setting on your text files.
You might be making this harder than it needs to be! Just consider using tools that can help enforce the character encoding during your development process.
Just remember, a valid ASCII file is also a valid UTF-8 file! So if you're trying to strictly enforce non-ASCII UTF-8, it's going to limit what you can include drastically.
You might also want to look into Unicode character categories to help you filter out unwanted characters systematically. For instance, excluding any C-category characters could align with your goals. If you're coding in Java or another language, you could easily check each character's type.
Consider using code formatters like Prettier or ESLint in combination with your build tools. These tools can help maintain coding standards, including character encoding.
There's no straightforward way to verify a file as pure UTF-8 just by checking the text. Instead, it often involves ensuring your files specify their encoding correctly, often done through meta tags or the encoding options in your programming languages. If you want to find or strip out invisible characters from your files, it's a good idea to write a script targeting specific code points to cleanse your files.
Absolutely! This makes sense if you're looking to enforce formatting. Be sure to use language-specific libraries that can handle UTF-8 properly.
Yes! Start with a list of characters you want to exclude and automatically filter them out during your file processing.
I get what you're saying about ASCII, but I'm aiming for a stricter check to avoid any ambiguity. I want to eliminate even those standard characters from my files for strict consistency across the board.