enc2xs

enc2xs [-C directory] [-D directory] [-G] [-H] [-o output] [-p] [-P] [-Q] [-S scheme] [-v] [-X] [-?] encoding [alias ...]

-C directory
    Directory for charset conversion tables (default: Encode lib dirs)

-D directory
    Base directory for output modules (default: Encode/lib)

-G
    Generate Guess.pm tables for Encode::Guess

-H
    Generate XS header file

-o outputfilename
    Output Perl module filename (default: Encode/encoding.pm)

-p
    Generate POD documentation (default)

-P
    Do not generate POD

-Q
    Quiet mode; no progress indicator

-S scheme
    Mapping scheme (default: default)

-v
    Verbose output

-X
    No XS file; pure Perl only

-? or --help
    Display help

enc2xs is a Perl utility from the Encode module that converts MIME character set maps into ready-to-use Perl modules. It reads encoding tables from system directories (typically under Perl's Encode lib dir) or a specified path, generating .pm files with encode/decode functions, XS C code for speed, and optional POD documentation.

Invoke with an encoding name like enc2xs utf8 to create Encode::utf8.pm. Aliases can be added, e.g., enc2xs euc-jp EUC-JP-2000. The tool handles various schemes (e.g., default, 1_to_1) and supports custom output dirs.

This enables easy addition of encoding support in Perl scripts without manual XS coding. It's essential for internationalization, processing text in encodings like ISO-8859, EUC, Shift-JIS. Generated modules integrate seamlessly with use Encode 'encoding';, providing encode() and decode() functions.

Progress shows table loading; verbose mode details steps. Quiet mode suppresses output.

Requires pre-built encoding maps; fails if map not found. XS generation needs C compiler. Not for dynamic/runtime encodings.

enc2xs -D lib euc-jp
Creates lib/Encode/EUCJP.pm for EUC-JP encoding.

Supports UCS2, map files from iconv or Encode sources; check @INC/Encode dir.

Introduced in Perl 5.8.0 (2002) with Encode module. Enhanced in later versions for more schemes, Guess support, and better map handling.

piconv(1), encguess(1), perl(1)