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Python - string encoding

  • DaveyD

    Hi
    I have a simple python script that takes the selected text, reverses it, and replaces the selection with the reversed string
    With standard English letters, it works perfectly, but when I have Hebrew letters selected, some characters don’t get entered correctly (I get some binary hex characters e.g. xA3 in a blue box)

    The document is encoded with OEM 862 encoding
    Here is the script that I use

    text = editor.getSelText()
editor.replaceSel(text[::-1])

    If anyone can help with this I would appreciate it
    Thanks,
    Davey

    0 Claudia Frank 1 Reply
  • Claudia Frank

    Hello Davey,

    did you read this?

    Cheers
    Claudia

    1
  • DaveyD

    Hi Claudia - Thanks for the link!
    I did read about that (but not there, rather on stackoverflow.com), and I’ve tried and tried but haven’t been able to figure out what to do!
    Now that you pointed to it again, I put more time into it… and finally I figured out a method to get it to work!
    However, I have no clue how it works!
    This is what I have:

    • A text file encoded in OEM 862 (or in python ‘cp862’)
    • A script with default encoding (ANSI)

    So, I would think that I have to do some type of encoding with cp862 and utf-8 (since python works in utf-8).
    I tried:

    text.decode('cp862')
text.encode('cp862')

text.decode('cp862')
text.encode('utf-8')

text.decode('utf-8')
text.encode('cp862')

    None of the above worked!
    Now, I tried the exact example given in the help file you pointed to above:

    text.decode('utf-8')
text.encode('utf-8')

    And this worked perfectly!
    This is great! My script is now working!
    But… Why?! why does this make sense??
    I am so confused with this encoding business…! :)

    Thanks,
    Davey

    0 Claudia Frank 1 Reply
  • Claudia Frank

    Hello Davey,

    what should I say, it’s like the regexes.
    Whenever you think you finally understand its behaviour
    something happens which you didn’t expect.
    Tbh, I can’t give you any advice on this as I’m still in the same situation as you - why does it what it does. ;-)

    But, c’mon - be happy it works and there will be a tomorrow when it fails again,
    so take the chance to celebrate - hip hip horroray ;-)

    Cheers
    Claudia

    0
  • DaveyD

    :) :) :)
    Thanks Claudia - you made me laugh!
    I just hope it doesnt happen any time soon…! :)

    Cheers
    Davey

    0
  • Claudia Frank

    you made me laugh!

    Well, then my work is done - time to party

    Cheers
    Claudia

    0
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