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encoding_force_encode

🛠 Handle Encodings with force_encoding and encode​

When processing external data (files, network), you may encounter mismatched or invalid encodings. Use force_encoding to tell Ruby how to interpret raw bytes, and encode to convert strings safely between encodings. Combine with error-handling options to avoid exceptions.

raw = File.read("data.txt", mode: "rb")
# Assume the file is actually ISO-8859-1
text = raw.force_encoding("ISO-8859-1")
# Convert to UTF-8, replacing invalid bytes
utf8_text = text.encode("UTF-8", invalid: :replace, undef: :replace, replace: "?")
puts utf8_text.encoding  # => #<Encoding:UTF-8>