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Encoding API

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{{DefaultAPISidebar("Encoding API")}}{{AvailableInWorkers}}

The Encoding API enables web developers to work with text that is represented in {{Glossary("character encoding", "character encodings")}} systems other than the encoding used internally by JavaScript strings. In particular, it enables developers to convert text between JavaScript strings and the {{glossary("UTF-8")}} encoding that is used for most documents on the web.

It provides two mechanisms:

  • Encoding: taking a JavaScript string and converting it into an array of bytes representing the {{glossary("UTF-8")}} encoding of the string.
  • Decoding: taking an array of bytes representing a particular character encoding of some text, and converting it into a JavaScript string.

Note that these operations are asymmetrical: encoding only encodes to UTF-8, while decoding can decode UTF-8 but also many legacy encoding systems.

The API provides synchronous interfaces for encoding and decoding, and also stream-based encoders and decoders, which could be used to, for example, decode text as it arrives over a network connection.

Interfaces

  • {{DOMxRef("TextDecoder")}}
    • : A decoder to convert a byte array containing a particular encoding into a JavaScript string.
  • {{DOMxRef("TextDecoderStream")}}
    • : A decoder to convert a byte stream containing a particular encoding into a stream of JavaScript strings.
  • {{DOMxRef("TextEncoder")}}
    • : An encoder to convert a JavaScript string into an array of bytes representing the UTF-8 encoding of the string.
  • {{DOMxRef("TextEncoderStream")}}
    • : An encoder to convert a stream of JavaScript strings into a stream of bytes representing the UTF-8 encoding of the strings.

Specifications

{{Specifications}}

Browser compatibility

{{Compat}}

See also