Re: [bug-gnulib] ISSLASH on Woe32

[Bruno Haible]

Paul Eggert wrote:
> I agree with you that file names should just use one encoding.  If the
> user wants an UTF-8 world, the user should specify all the file names
> components in UTF-8, and then everything will work.  If the user wants
> an EUC-JP world (not doable in Windows apparently, but the tradition
> for Japanese Solaris) then all the file names should be specified in
> EUC-JP.  The application shouldn't have to convert back and forth
> internally: it should stick to just one encoding, and let the wrapper
> functions (if any) deal with it.
>
> So if I understand you correctly, yes, I'd favor (4) for gnulib code;

Thank you for judging on this. I came to the same opinion. The conclusion
thus is that Windows users in Japanese and Chinese locales cannot expect
GNU programs to support directory or file names like
  C:\語噂語\蚕

The long term solution for this would be for Microsoft to offer Japanese
and Chinese locales with UTF-8 encoding. (Microsoft supports Unicode. But
as far as I can see, there is currently no choice of the locale encoding
in their system. You choose Japanese - you get SHIFT_JIS.)

Bruno