recode-sr-latin

recode-sr-latin [OPTIONS] [FILE...]

FILE...
    Input file(s) to convert. If no files are specified, recode-sr-latin reads from standard input and writes to standard output.

-v, --verbose
    Explain the conversion steps and provide detailed information about the process.

-f, --force
    Force conversion even if some characters cannot be perfectly represented in the target script or if auto-detection encounters ambiguities.

-d, --dry-run
    Perform a dry run; show what would be done without actually writing any output files or modifying content.

-h, --help
    Display a brief help message and exit.

-V, --version
    Display version information about the recode utility (which recode-sr-latin is based on) and exit.

recode-sr-latin is a specialized wrapper or alias for the recode utility, specifically designed to handle transliteration between Serbian Cyrillic and Serbian Latin scripts. It aims to simplify the process of converting text files encoded in one Serbian script into the other, often attempting to auto-detect the input script. This command is particularly useful for users working with Serbian language content who need to switch between the two official scripts used for the language. It leverages the robust character set conversion capabilities of the underlying recode library to perform context-aware transliteration, ensuring accurate conversion of Serbian specific characters and digraphs (like 'nj', 'lj', 'dž').

recode-sr-latin relies on the underlying recode library's transliteration rules, which are generally accurate but fixed. It might struggle with highly ambiguous inputs or non-standard encodings if auto-detection fails. Its exact behavior can depend on its implementation (e.g., a shell script versus a symbolic link to recode). For complex scenarios, specifying exact encodings might be necessary with the main recode command.

One of the key features of recode-sr-latin is its ability to often automatically detect whether the input text is in Serbian Cyrillic or Serbian Latin, and then perform the appropriate conversion (Cyrillic to Latin, or Latin to Cyrillic) without explicit direction from the user.

Unlike many simple character encoding tools, recode-sr-latin is designed for bidirectional conversion. It can accurately convert text from Serbian Cyrillic to Latin script, and conversely, from Serbian Latin to Cyrillic script, handling special digraphs (e.g., 'nj', 'lj', 'dž') and single characters correctly.

The recode project, upon which recode-sr-latin is built, dates back to the 1990s, developed by François Pinard. It was conceived as a robust and extensible character set and script converter. The specific inclusion of recode-sr-latin emerged from the need to accurately handle the unique bidirectional transliteration rules between Serbian Cyrillic and Latin scripts, a task more complex than simple character encoding conversions, thereby making recode a comprehensive tool for Slavic language text processing.

recode(1), iconv(1), enca(1)