JSONEncoder.encode(_:) should specify the encoding of the resulting data

Originator:bwalters
Number:rdar://FB7699234 Date Originated:12 May 2020
Status:Open Resolved:
Product:Documentation Product Version:
Classification: Reproducible:
 
While Foundation's JSONSerialization.data(withJSONObject:) *does* specify that the resulting data is encoded in UTF-8, JSONEncoder.encode(_:) *does not*.

This is problematic because it means the following code sample from the JSONEncoder page (https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundation/jsonencoder) and several third-party Codable tutorials is not necessarily correct:

```
let data = try encoder.encode(pear)
print(String(data: data, encoding: .utf8)!)
```

Relying on the JSON spec alone, the data could be UTF-8, UTF-16, or UTF-32.

In practice, JSONEncoder appears to be implemented using JSONSerialization (on Darwin and Linux) and people rely on this, so I wouldn't expect the encoding of the returned data to change any time soon. It would still be nice if JSONEncoder's returned data encoding was documented though.

Comments


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