Steps for repairing the encoding of a string in JavaScript

Question

Steps for repairing the encoding of a string in JavaScript

I have encountered a broken string from another software source and I am attempting to repair its encoding using JavaScript, but I seem to be missing a crucial step.

Here is an example of the broken string: DÃ©tectÃ© Ã lors Ã´ Ã¹
The desired output should be: Détecté à lors ôùi

Unfortunately, I am unaware of the encoding that was used to send me the string.

My plan involves leveraging the TextDecoder API to convert the string to bytes and then reencode it in either UTF-8 or UTF-16.

Below is the code snippet I utilized to identify the charset in use:


        const str = 'Détecté à lors ôùi';
        const str2 = 'DÃ©tectÃ© Ã  lors Ã´ Ã¹';

        const charsets = [
            'utf-8',
            "ibm866",
            "iso-8859-2",
            // Add all other charsets here
        ];

        // Rest of the code

(The code can be tested here: https://jsfiddle.net/tashebwj/)

The output generated by the code is as follows:


        // Output results go here

Why is this method not functioning as intended? Are there any alternative approaches to fixing the string using this method or a different one?

javascript encoding charset textdecoder

Answer 1

Answer №1

Execute the following code:

> encodeURIComponent("Detected àlors oui")  // str_expected
< 'D%C3%A9tect%C3%A9%20%C3%A0lors%20%C3%B4%C3%B9i'
> escape("Detected àlors oui")
< 'D%E9tect%E9%20%E0lors%20%F4%F9i'

Then, run the code snippet below:

> escape("DÃ©tectÃ© Ã lors Ã´Ã¹")  // str_actual
< 'D%C3%A9tect%C3%A9%20%C3%20lors%20%C3%B4%C3%B9'

Comparing the two, we observe a high degree of similarity and deduce that the discrepancy arises due to the interpretation of UTF-8 code points in str_expected:

D\xC3\xA9tect\xC3\xA9\x20\xC3\xA0lors\x20\xC3\xB4\xC3\xB9i

versus misinterpretation of Unicode points in str_actual (conversion of each byte to UTF-16 code point):

D\u00C3\u00A9tect\u00C3\u00A9\u0020\u00C3\u00A0lors\u0020\u00C3\u00B4\u00C3\u00B9i

Instead of the anticipated conversion (from UTF-8 to UTF-16):

D\u00E9tect\u00E9\u0020\u00E0lors\u0020\u00F4\u00F9i

To rectify the UTF8 byte string str_actual and regain the desired Unicode string str_expected, use the following command:

decodeURIComponent(escape(str_actual))

Furthermore, the absence of the concluding i in str_actual potentially results from an oversight in selection. The alteration of \xC3\xA0lors in str_expected to \u00C3\u0020lors in str_actual may stem from the transformation of the non-breaking space (NBSP, \u00A0) in the original output \u00C3\u00A0lors to a regular space (\u0020) during manual copying. To eliminate unforeseen conversions, consider redirecting the original output directly to a file rather than manual selection and copying.

Answer 2

Execute the following code:

> encodeURIComponent("Detected àlors oui")  // str_expected
< 'D%C3%A9tect%C3%A9%20%C3%A0lors%20%C3%B4%C3%B9i'
> escape("Detected àlors oui")
< 'D%E9tect%E9%20%E0lors%20%F4%F9i'

Then, run the code snippet below:

> escape("DÃ©tectÃ© Ã lors Ã´Ã¹")  // str_actual
< 'D%C3%A9tect%C3%A9%20%C3%20lors%20%C3%B4%C3%B9'

Comparing the two, we observe a high degree of similarity and deduce that the discrepancy arises due to the interpretation of UTF-8 code points in str_expected:

D\xC3\xA9tect\xC3\xA9\x20\xC3\xA0lors\x20\xC3\xB4\xC3\xB9i

versus misinterpretation of Unicode points in str_actual (conversion of each byte to UTF-16 code point):

D\u00C3\u00A9tect\u00C3\u00A9\u0020\u00C3\u00A0lors\u0020\u00C3\u00B4\u00C3\u00B9i

Instead of the anticipated conversion (from UTF-8 to UTF-16):

D\u00E9tect\u00E9\u0020\u00E0lors\u0020\u00F4\u00F9i

To rectify the UTF8 byte string str_actual and regain the desired Unicode string str_expected, use the following command:

decodeURIComponent(escape(str_actual))

Furthermore, the absence of the concluding i in str_actual potentially results from an oversight in selection. The alteration of \xC3\xA0lors in str_expected to \u00C3\u0020lors in str_actual may stem from the transformation of the non-breaking space (NBSP, \u00A0) in the original output \u00C3\u00A0lors to a regular space (\u0020) during manual copying. To eliminate unforeseen conversions, consider redirecting the original output directly to a file rather than manual selection and copying.

Steps for repairing the encoding of a string in JavaScript

Answer №1

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