[Python-Dev] XML codec?

[Walter Dörwald]

Martin v. Löwis wrote:
>>> Yes, an XML parser should be able to use UTF-8, UTF-16, UTF-32, etc
>>> codecs to do the encoding.  There's no need to create a magical
>>> mystery codec to pick out which though.
>> So the code is good, if it is inside an XML parser, and it's bad if it
>> is inside a codec?
> 
> Exactly so. This functionality just *isn't* a codec - there is no
> encoding. Instead, it is an algorithm for *detecting* an encoding.

And what do you do once you've detected the encoding? You decode the
input, so why not combine both into an XML decoder?

Servus,
   Walter