Encoding word using C# && dotnet core

Question

I try to decode the word Mickaël here

using System;
using System.Net;
using System.Web;

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        string s1 = WebUtility.HtmlDecode("Micka&#xEBl") ;
        string s2 = HttpUtility.HtmlDecode("Micka&#xEBl") ; 

        Console.WriteLine(s1);
        Console.WriteLine(s2);
    }
}

But I get this output :

Micka&#xEBl

Micka&#xEBl

So I need to know how can I decode this word properly ?

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/122641/how-can-i-decode-html-characters-in-c — Renat, May 22 '19 at 15:07
Your input is missing the semicolon after the `ë`. Decoding `Mickaël` works, see: https://dotnetfiddle.net/JrGg5j — canton7, May 22 '19 at 15:16
@canton7 thank you :) can you please post plz this as an aswer and explain why we have this `Mickaël` and `Mickaël` as possible encoded words for `Mickaël` — Lamloumi Afif, May 22 '19 at 15:19

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered May 22 '19 at 15:07

6

Your input is incorrect. If you HtmlEncode Mickaël you end up with Mickaël.

string s1 = WebUtility.HtmlDecode("Micka&#235;l") ;
Console.WriteLine(s1);

Outputs Mickaël

answered May 22 '19 at 15:07

Owen Pauling

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Especially note the semicolon ; – Hans Keﬆing May 22 '19 at 15:10
@Owen I found this word in an email body , then I check the decoded value using this site https://codebeautify.org/html-decode-string – Lamloumi Afif May 22 '19 at 15:12

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered May 22 '19 at 15:25

TL;DR Your input is missing a semicolon. It should be Mickaël.

If you check the specification, you can see that there are three ways to encode a character in HTML:

&#x20AC;      hexadecimal numeric character reference
&#8364;       decimal numeric character reference
&euro;        named character reference

All of them start with a & and end with a ;.

ë can be encoded either as a named character reference (ë), or using its numeric character reference 235, encoded as either decimal (ë) or hexadecimal (ë).

Your input uses the hexadecimal encoding, but misses the final ;. If you add it back in, your code works: https://dotnetfiddle.net/7PPLu4

_{(@OwenPauling identified the problem with the input first. I was asked to post an answer expanding on the different ways to encode the ë in the comments)}

Encoding word using C# && dotnet core

2 Answers2