CharConversion

CharConversion is the process of translating characters from one character encoding or character set to another, or of transforming their representation within a program. It covers both decoding of bytes into a form used internally by software and encoding of that internal form into bytes for storage or transmission. In practice, CharConversion manages the mapping between code points, glyphs, and byte sequences across different systems.

Typically, a conversion starts by decoding source bytes in a given encoding to an internal representation such as Unicode code points. The text may then be normalized and manipulated before being encoded into the target encoding. Important considerations include multi‑byte sequences, endianness, and markers such as the byte order mark.

Common challenges include lossy conversion when the target encoding cannot represent certain characters, handling invalid input sequences, and performance implications for large or streaming text. Error handling strategies range from strict failure to replacement characters or custom mappings.

CharConversion is central to localization, data exchange, file I/O, and network communication. It is supported by libraries and APIs in many languages, including ICU, iconv, and language-specific codecs in Java, Python, and .NET. Best practices include using a canonical internal representation (such as Unicode code points), explicit normalization, and clear error handling policies.