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MIME::Charset(3pm)    User Contributed Perl Documentation   MIME::Charset(3pm)

NAME
       MIME::Charset - Charset Information for MIME

SYNOPSIS
           use MIME::Charset:

           $charset = MIME::Charset->new("euc-jp");

       Getting charset information:

           $benc = $charset->body_encoding; # e.g. "Q"
           $cset = $charset->as_string; # e.g. "US-ASCII"
           $henc = $charset->header_encoding; # e.g. "S"
           $cset = $charset->output_charset; # e.g. "ISO-2022-JP"

       Translating text data:

           ($text, $charset, $encoding) =
               $charset->header_encode(
                  "\xc9\xc2\xc5\xaa\xc0\xde\xc3\xef\xc5\xaa".
                  "\xc7\xd1\xca\xaa\xbd\xd0\xce\xcf\xb4\xef",
                  Charset => 'euc-jp');
           # ...returns e.g. (<converted>, "ISO-2022-JP", "B").

           ($text, $charset, $encoding) =
               $charset->body_encode(
                   "Collectioneur path\xe9tiquement ".
                   "\xe9clectique de d\xe9chets",
                   Charset => 'latin1');
           # ...returns e.g. (<original>, "ISO-8859-1", "QUOTED-PRINTABLE").

           $len = $charset->encoded_header_len(
               "Perl\xe8\xa8\x80\xe8\xaa\x9e",
               Charset => 'utf-8',
               Encoding => "b");
           # ...returns e.g. 28.

       Manipulating module defaults:

           MIME::Charset::alias("csEUCKR", "euc-kr");
           MIME::Charset::default("iso-8859-1");
           MIME::Charset::fallback("us-ascii");

       Non-OO functions (may be deprecated in near future):

           use MIME::Charset qw(:info);

           $benc = body_encoding("iso-8859-2"); # "Q"
           $cset = canonical_charset("ANSI X3.4-1968"); # "US-ASCII"
           $henc = header_encoding("utf-8"); # "S"
           $cset = output_charset("shift_jis"); # "ISO-2022-JP"

           use MIME::Charset qw(:trans);

           ($text, $charset, $encoding) =
               header_encode(
                  "\xc9\xc2\xc5\xaa\xc0\xde\xc3\xef\xc5\xaa".
                  "\xc7\xd1\xca\xaa\xbd\xd0\xce\xcf\xb4\xef",
                  "euc-jp");
           # ...returns (<converted>, "ISO-2022-JP", "B");

           ($text, $charset, $encoding) =
               body_encode(
                   "Collectioneur path\xe9tiquement ".
                   "\xe9clectique de d\xe9chets",
                   "latin1");
           # ...returns (<original>, "ISO-8859-1", "QUOTED-PRINTABLE");

           $len = encoded_header_len(
               "Perl\xe8\xa8\x80\xe8\xaa\x9e", "b", "utf-8"); # 28

DESCRIPTION
       MIME::Charset provides information about character sets used for MIME
       messages on Internet.

   Definitions
       The charset is ``character set'' used in MIME to refer to a method of
       converting a sequence of octets into a sequence of characters.  It
       includes both concepts of ``coded character set'' (CCS) and ``character
       encoding scheme'' (CES) of ISO/IEC.

       The encoding is that used in MIME to refer to a method of representing
       a body part or a header body as sequence(s) of printable US-ASCII
       characters.

   Constructor
       $charset = MIME::Charset->new([CHARSET [, OPTS]])
           Create charset object.

           OPTS   may   accept   following   key-value   pair.    NOTE:   When
           Unicode/multibyte   support   is   disabled   (see   "USE_ENCODE"),
           conversion  will  not be performed.  So this option do not have any
           effects.

           Mapping => MAPTYPE
               Whether to extend mappings actually used for charset  names  or
               not.   "EXTENDED"  uses  extended  mappings.   "STANDARD"  uses
               standardized strict mappings.  Default is "EXTENDED".

   Getting Information of Charsets
       $charset->body_encoding
       body_encoding CHARSET
           Get recommended transfer-encoding of CHARSET for message body.

           Returned value will be one of "B" (BASE64), "Q" (QUOTED-PRINTABLE),
           "S" (shorter one of either) or  "undef"  (might  not  be  transfer-
           encoded;  either  7BIT  or 8BIT).  This may not be same as encoding
           for message header.

       $charset->as_string
       canonical_charset CHARSET
           Get canonical name for charset.

       $charset->decoder
           Get "Encode::Encoding" object  to  decode  strings  to  Unicode  by
           charset.   If charset is not specified or not known by this module,
           undef will be returned.

       $charset->dup
           Get a copy of charset object.

       $charset->encoder([CHARSET])
           Get  "Encode::Encoding"  object  to  encode  Unicode  string  using
           compatible charset recommended to be used for messages on Internet.

           If  optional  CHARSET  is  specified,  replace  encoder (and output
           charset name) of $charset object with those of CHARSET,  therefore,
           $charset  object  will  be a converter between original charset and
           new CHARSET.

       $charset->header_encoding
       header_encoding CHARSET
           Get recommended encoding scheme of CHARSET for message header.

           Returned value will be one of "B", "Q", "S" (shorter one of either)
           or "undef" (might not  be  encoded).   This  may  not  be  same  as
           encoding for message body.

       $charset->output_charset
       output_charset CHARSET
           Get  a  charset  which  is  compatible  with  given  CHARSET and is
           recommended to be used for MIME messages  on  Internet  (if  it  is
           known by this module).

           When Unicode/multibyte support is disabled (see "USE_ENCODE"), this
           function will simply return the result of "canonical_charset".

   Translating Text Data
       $charset->body_encode(STRING [, OPTS])
       body_encode STRING, CHARSET [, OPTS]
           Get  converted (if needed) data of STRING and recommended transfer-
           encoding of that data for message body.  CHARSET is the charset  by
           which STRING is encoded.

           OPTS   may   accept   following   key-value   pairs.    NOTE:  When
           Unicode/multibyte   support   is   disabled   (see   "USE_ENCODE"),
           conversion will not be performed.  So these options do not have any
           effects.

           Detect7bit => YESNO
               Try  auto-detecting  7-bit  charset  when CHARSET is not given.
               Default is "YES".

           Replacement => REPLACEMENT
               Specifies error handling scheme.  See "Error Handling".

           3-item list of (converted string,  charset  for  output,  transfer-
           encoding)  will  be  returned.   Transfer-encoding  will  be either
           "BASE64", "QUOTED-PRINTABLE", "7BIT" or  "8BIT".   If  charset  for
           output  could  not be determined and converted string contains non-
           ASCII byte(s), charset for output will  be  "undef"  and  transfer-
           encoding  will  be "BASE64".  Charset for output will be "US-ASCII"
           if and only if string does not contain any non-ASCII bytes.

       $charset->decode(STRING [,CHECK])
           Decode STRING to Unicode.

           Note:   When   Unicode/multibyte   support   is    disabled    (see
           "USE_ENCODE"), this function will die.

       detect_7bit_charset STRING
           Guess  7-bit  charset  that  may encode a string STRING.  If STRING
           contains any 8-bit bytes, "undef"  will  be  returned.   Otherwise,
           Default Charset will be returned for unknown charset.

       $charset->encode(STRING [, CHECK])
           Encode  STRING  (Unicode  or  non-Unicode) using compatible charset
           recommended to be used for messages on  Internet  (if  this  module
           knows  it).   Note  that  string  will  be  decoded to Unicode then
           encoded even if compatible charset was equal to original charset.

           Note:   When   Unicode/multibyte   support   is    disabled    (see
           "USE_ENCODE"), this function will die.

       $charset->encoded_header_len(STRING [, ENCODING])
       encoded_header_len STRING, ENCODING, CHARSET
           Get length of encoded STRING for message header (without folding).

           ENCODING  may  be one of "B", "Q" or "S" (shorter one of either "B"
           or "Q").

       $charset->header_encode(STRING [, OPTS])
       header_encode STRING, CHARSET [, OPTS]
           Get converted (if needed) data of STRING and  recommended  encoding
           scheme of that data for message headers.  CHARSET is the charset by
           which STRING is encoded.

           OPTS   may   accept   following   key-value   pairs.    NOTE:  When
           Unicode/multibyte   support   is   disabled   (see   "USE_ENCODE"),
           conversion will not be performed.  So these options do not have any
           effects.

           Detect7bit => YESNO
               Try  auto-detecting  7-bit  charset  when CHARSET is not given.
               Default is "YES".

           Replacement => REPLACEMENT
               Specifies error handling scheme.  See "Error Handling".

           3-item list of (converted  string,  charset  for  output,  encoding
           scheme)  will be returned.  Encoding scheme will be either "B", "Q"
           or "undef" (might not be encoded).  If charset for output could not
           be determined and  converted  string  contains  non-ASCII  byte(s),
           charset  for  output will be "8BIT" (this is not charset name but a
           special value to represent unencodable data)  and  encoding  scheme
           will  be  "undef" (should not be encoded).  Charset for output will
           be "US-ASCII" if and only if string does not contain any  non-ASCII
           bytes.

       $charset->undecode(STRING [,CHECK])
           Encode  Unicode  string  STRING  to byte string by input charset of
           $charset.  This is equivalent to "$charset->decoder->encode()".

           Note:   When   Unicode/multibyte   support   is    disabled    (see
           "USE_ENCODE"), this function will die.

   Manipulating Module Defaults
       alias ALIAS [, CHARSET]
           Get/set   charset   alias   for   canonical   names  determined  by
           "canonical_charset".

           If CHARSET is given and isn't false, ALIAS will be assigned  as  an
           alias  of  CHARSET.   Otherwise,  alias  won't be changed.  In both
           cases,  current  charset  name  that  ALIAS  is  assigned  will  be
           returned.

       default [CHARSET]
           Get/set default charset.

           Default  charset  is  used  by  this module when charset context is
           unknown.  Modules using this module are  recommended  to  use  this
           charset  when  charset  context  is  unknown or implicit default is
           expected.  By default, it is "US-ASCII".

           If CHARSET is given and isn't false, it  will  be  set  to  default
           charset.   Otherwise,  default  charset  won't be changed.  In both
           cases, current default charset will be returned.

           NOTE: Default charset should not be changed.

       fallback [CHARSET]
           Get/set fallback charset.

           Fallback charset is used by this module when  conversion  by  given
           charset   is   failed  and  "FALLBACK"  error  handling  scheme  is
           specified.  Modules using this module may use this charset as  last
           resort of charset for conversion.  By default, it is "UTF-8".

           If  CHARSET  is  given  and isn't false, it will be set to fallback
           charset.  If CHARSET is "NONE", fallback charset will be undefined.
           Otherwise, fallback  charset  won't  be  changed.   In  any  cases,
           current fallback charset will be returned.

           NOTE:  It  is  useful  that  "US-ASCII"  is  specified  as fallback
           charset, since  result  of  conversion  will  be  readable  without
           charset information.

       recommended CHARSET [, HEADERENC, BODYENC [, ENCCHARSET]]
           Get/set charset profiles.

           If  optional  arguments  are  given  and any of them are not false,
           profiles for CHARSET will be set by  those  arguments.   Otherwise,
           profiles  won't  be  changed.   In both cases, current profiles for
           CHARSET will be returned as 3-item  list  of  (HEADERENC,  BODYENC,
           ENCCHARSET).

           HEADERENC  is  recommended  encoding scheme for message header.  It
           may be one of "B", "Q", "S" (shorter  one  of  either)  or  "undef"
           (might not be encoded).

           BODYENC  is recommended transfer-encoding for message body.  It may
           be one of "B", "Q", "S" (shorter one of either) or  "undef"  (might
           not be transfer-encoded).

           ENCCHARSET  is a charset which is compatible with given CHARSET and
           is recommended to be  used  for  MIME  messages  on  Internet.   If
           conversion  is  not needed (or this module doesn't know appropriate
           charset), ENCCHARSET is "undef".

           NOTE: This function in the future releases can accept more optional
           arguments (for example, properties to handle character widths, line
           folding behavior, ...).  So format of returned value  may  probably
           be    changed.     Use    "header_encoding",   "body_encoding"   or
           "output_charset" to get particular profile.

   Constants
       USE_ENCODE
           Unicode/multibyte support flag.  Non-empty string will be set  when
           Unicode  and  multibyte  support  is enabled.  Currently, this flag
           will be non-empty on Perl  5.7.3  or  later  and  empty  string  on
           earlier versions of Perl.

   Error Handling
       "body_encode"   and   "header_encode"  accept  following  "Replacement"
       options:

       "DEFAULT"
           Put a substitution character in place  of  a  malformed  character.
           For UCM-based encodings, <subchar> will be used.

       "FALLBACK"
           Try "DEFAULT" scheme using fallback charset (see "fallback").  When
           fallback  charset  is  undefined  and conversion causes error, code
           will die on error with an error message.

       "CROAK"
           Code  will  die  on  error  immediately  with  an  error   message.
           Therefore,  you  should trap the fatal error with eval{} unless you
           really want to let it die on error.  Synonym is "STRICT".

       "PERLQQ"
       "HTMLCREF"
       "XMLCREF"
           Use "FB_PERLQQ", "FB_HTMLCREF" or "FB_XMLCREF"  scheme  defined  by
           Encode module.

       numeric values
           Numeric  values  are  also allowed.  For more details see "Handling
           Malformed Data" in Encode.

       If error  handling  scheme  is  not  specified  or  unknown  scheme  is
       specified, "DEFAULT" will be assumed.

   Configuration File
       Built-in   defaults   for   option  parameters  can  be  overridden  by
       configuration file: MIME/Charset/Defaults.pm.  For  more  details  read
       MIME/Charset/Defaults.pm.sample.

VERSION
       Consult $VERSION variable.

       Development    versions    of    this    module   may   be   found   at
       <http://hatuka.nezumi.nu/repos/MIME-Charset/>.

   Incompatible Changes
       Release 1.001
           •   new() method returns an object when  CHARSET  argument  is  not
               specified.

       Release 1.005
           •   Restrict  characters  in  encoded-word  according  to  RFC 2047
               section  5  (3).    This   also   affects   return   value   of
               encoded_header_len() method.

       Release 1.008.2
           •   body_encoding() method may also returns "S".

           •   Return  value  of  body_encode()  method  for UTF-8 may include
               "QUOTED-PRINTABLE" encoding item that in earlier  versions  was
               fixed to "BASE64".

SEE ALSO
       Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME).

AUTHOR
       Hatuka*nezumi - IKEDA Soji <hatuka(at)nezumi.nu>

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright  (C)  2006-2017  Hatuka*nezumi - IKEDA Soji.  This program is
       free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the  same
       terms as Perl itself.

perl v5.36.0                      2022-10-13                MIME::Charset(3pm)

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