UTF8Format

UTF8Format is a term used in software documentation to denote the UTF-8 encoded representation of Unicode text within a byte-oriented data stream. It is not a formal encoding standard, but a convention used by libraries and protocols to describe how text should be encoded, stored, and transmitted using UTF-8.

UTF-8 encodes characters using one to four bytes; 0xxxxxxx for ASCII (U+0000 to U+007F), 110xxxxx 10xxxxxx for two-byte sequences, 1110xxxx 10xxxxxx for three-byte sequences, and 11110xxx 10xxxxxx for four-byte sequences. In UTF8Format, the data must follow canonical UTF-8 rules: no overlong encodings, no surrogate code points, and continuation bytes with the leading 10 bit pattern.

Validation and error handling are typically part of UTF8Format specifications. If a byte sequence violates UTF-8 rules, UTF8Format may specify error reporting, or replacement characters U+FFFD, depending on the environment and the needs of the consuming system.

Byte Order Mark handling is another consideration. UTF-8 may include a BOM (EF BB BF) to signal encoding; UTF8Format documentation may specify BOM presence or absence, and whether the BOM is treated as data or metadata.

Interoperability and usage often involve data interchange formats and text files where consistent UTF-8 interpretation is required. UTF8Format is commonly applied in web data, JSON, XML, and network protocols, facilitating reliable cross-system text exchange.

Variations exist across implementations. Some enforce strict validation with complete error reporting, while others support incremental or streaming decoding that tolerates partial data.

See also Unicode, UTF-8, Byte Order Mark, JSON, XML.