captoinfo

captoinfo is a command-line utility designed to display information about character sets and encodings. It is part of the GNU gettext package, which is widely used for internationalization and localization of software. The primary purpose of captoinfo is to help developers and system administrators understand the properties of different character sets, such as the direction of text flow (left-to-right or right-to-left), the order of bytes within multi-byte characters, and other relevant attributes.

This tool can be particularly useful when dealing with complex character encodings or when troubleshooting issues related to text display and processing across different languages and regions. By examining the output of captoinfo, one can gain insights into how a particular character set is structured and how it might interact with other parts of a system. It allows for the inspection of locale-specific information that influences text rendering and manipulation.

captoinfo typically reads information from terminfo or termcap databases, which store terminal-dependent capabilities. When applied to character encodings, it provides details that are essential for ensuring correct handling of text in various contexts, especially in environments where multiple languages are supported. Understanding these details is crucial for ensuring that software behaves as expected and displays text accurately for users worldwide.