Re: [RFC PATCH] Windows: Assume all file names to be UTF-8 encoded.

From: Johannes Sixt <j.sixt@viscovery.net>
Date: Mar 2, 2009, 12:34 UTC
Message-ID: <49ABD24B.5060005@viscovery.net>
In-Reply-To: <alpine.DEB.2.00.0903021137110.17877@perkele.intern.softwolves.pp.se>

Peter Krefting schrieb:

Show 8 quoted lines

> Johannes Sixt:
>> If git prints a file name under the assumption that it is UTF-8
>> encoded, then it will be displayed incorrectly because the system uses
>> a different encoding.
> 
> Here setting the local codepage to UTF-8 *might* work, although I
> haven't tested that. Or always use the wchar_t versions of printf and
> friends.

You cannot expect users to switch the locale. For example, I have to test our software with Japanese settings: I *cannot* switch to UTF-8 just because of git.

Can you set the local codepage per program? (I don't know.) It might help here, but it doesn't help in all cases, particularly in certain pipelines:

  git ls-files -o
  git ls-files -o | git update-index --add --stdin
  find . -name \*.jpg | git update-index --add --stdin

- What encoding should 'ls-files' use for its output? Certainly not always
UTF-8: stdout should use the local code page so that the file names are
interpreted correctly by the terminal window (it expects the local code page).

- What encoding should 'update-index' expect from its input? Can you be
sure that other programs generate UTF-8 output?

How do you solve that?

-- Hannes