The UTF-8 encoding uses BOM and can be handled by most modern software. Is there a reason to omit it? To save 3 bytes? If not, I would rather not clutter the menu with rarely-used options.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Anonymous
-
2011-09-15
Does it really use BOM? No, the main reason is not to save 3 bytes. The main reason is that the BOM causes trouble, and is not required in UTF-8. PHP (for example) does not like it. I don't like cluttered menus either. But we all have different needs, according to me this is important.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
The BOM causes trouble to software that are still stuck in the dark ages. I recognize the conflicting need to support these "legacy" programs and the need to provide a usable interface. The average user will not know what a BOM is and may be confused by it.
At its heart, TextWarrior will remain a general-purpose text editor (although many people use it as a programming text editor). That means that internationalization and usabliilty issues are more important than supporting programming activities. This is also why the built-in text editor of Windows and Mac do not offer the option of including/excluding the BOM.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
I forgot to add that if you are only interested in ASCII text, you can use the Latin-1 encoding option. That does not have BOM and should work fine with PHP.
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
The UTF-8 encoding uses BOM and can be handled by most modern software. Is there a reason to omit it? To save 3 bytes? If not, I would rather not clutter the menu with rarely-used options.
Does it really use BOM? No, the main reason is not to save 3 bytes. The main reason is that the BOM causes trouble, and is not required in UTF-8. PHP (for example) does not like it. I don't like cluttered menus either. But we all have different needs, according to me this is important.
The BOM causes trouble to software that are still stuck in the dark ages. I recognize the conflicting need to support these "legacy" programs and the need to provide a usable interface. The average user will not know what a BOM is and may be confused by it.
At its heart, TextWarrior will remain a general-purpose text editor (although many people use it as a programming text editor). That means that internationalization and usabliilty issues are more important than supporting programming activities. This is also why the built-in text editor of Windows and Mac do not offer the option of including/excluding the BOM.
I forgot to add that if you are only interested in ASCII text, you can use the Latin-1 encoding option. That does not have BOM and should work fine with PHP.