读取文件时的C＃编码

Question

I have a file which contains letter ø . When I read from it with this code File.ReadLines(filePath) I got a question mark instead of it.

And when I add Encoding like this File.ReadLines(filePath, Encoding.GetEncoding(1252)) I get the ø character.

But default Encoding is already set to 1252 , property Encoding.Default.CodePage returns 1252.

So why do I have to specify Encoding to 1252 while reading, when default one is already set to 1252 ?

And one more question, what if file is Unicode, will C# recognize its format or I have to specify Unicode encoding?

Answer 1

The reason is that by default the encoding used when reading text files is UTF8.

Encoding.Default is not (despite its name) the default encoding used when reading files!

A much better name for Encoding.Default would have been Encoding.UsingCurrentCodePage , in my opinion. ;)

Also note that rather than using File.ReadLines(filePath, Encoding.GetEncoding(1252)) you could use File.ReadLines(filePath, Encoding.Default) .

You would do that if your code is trying to read files that have been created in a different code page than 1252, and that code page is the current code page for the system on which the code is running.

The only reason you should be using code pages is if you are reading or writing legacy files.