Re: [xml] Problem with character references in range � through  inclusive

["Peter Jacobi" <pj walter-graphtek com>]

Hi David, All,

>   2.  My basic problem is that I need to be able to
>       encode any arbitrary octet sequence in the
>       XML element.  All of the characters except those
>       in the range � through  inclusive.
>       I experimented with doing them in hex both with
>       and without leading zeroes, and in decimal, as
>       well.  In every case every octet in the range
>       � through  inclusive is simply dropped.
>
> So, the long and short of it is -- what is the correct
> way to encode the octets in that range?

This is a common problem and googling around for
'xml "binary content"' will find a lot of discussions of
this. 

Essentially the answer is "XML is not designed for this sort of 
application".

The most common workaround is putting the binary data base64 
encoded into the XML file. Also higher level protocols are used to 
let the binary data travel alongside the XML file and include it
in the XML by reference.

If you consider your data to be of more textual nature, but
containing the occasional control chaarcter, remapping the
control character to the Unicode PUA (or to the
Control Pictures block), may be an option.

Regards,
Peter Jacobi