This is an experimental technology
Because this technology's specification has not stabilized, check the compatibility table for usage in various browsers. Also note that the syntax and behavior of an experimental technology is subject to change in future versions of browsers as the specification changes.
The TextDecoder interface represents a decoder for a specific method, that is a specific character encoding, like utf-8, iso-8859-2, koi8, cp1261, gbk, ... A decoder takes a stream of bytes as input and emits a stream of code points. For a more scalable, non-native library, see StringView – a C-like representation of strings based on typed arrays.
Example
let win1251decoder = new TextDecoder('windows-1251');
let bytes = new Uint8Array([207, 240, 232, 226, 229, 242, 44, 32, 236, 232, 240, 33]);
console.log(win1251decoder.decode(bytes)); // Привет, мир!
Properties
The TextDecoder interface doesn't inherit any properties.
TextDecoder.encodingRead only- Is a
DOMStringcontaining the name of the decoder, that is a string describing the method theTextDecoderwill use. TextDecoder.fatalRead only- Is a
Booleanindicating whether the error mode is fatal. TextDecoder.ignoreBOMRead only- Is a
Booleanindicating whether the byte order marker is ignored.
Constructor
TextDecoder()- Returns a newly constructed
TextDecoderthat will generate a code point stream with the decoding method specified in parameters.
Methods
The TextDecoder interface doesn't inherit any method.
TextDecoder.decode()- Returns a
DOMStringcontaining the text decoded with the method of the specificTextDecoderobject.
Specifications
| Specification | Status | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Encoding The definition of 'TextDecoder' in that specification. |
Candidate Recommendation | Initial definition. |
Browser compatibility
| Feature | Chrome | Firefox (Gecko) | Internet Explorer | Opera | Safari (WebKit) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | 38.0 | 19.0 (19.0) [1] | No support | 25 | 10.1 |
| Available in Web Workers | 38.0 | 20.0 (20.0) | No support | 25 | ? |
| Feature | Android | Android Webview | Firefox Mobile (Gecko) | Firefox OS | IE Phone | Opera Mobile | Safari Mobile | Chrome for Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic support | No support | 38.0 | 19.0 (19.0) [1] | 1.0.1 (19.0) | No support | ? | No support | 38.0 |
| Available in Web Workers | No support | 38.0 | 20.0 (20.0) | 1.0.1 (20.0) | No support | ? | No support | 38.0 |
[1] An earlier, and slightly different, version of the specification was implemented in Firefox 18.
See also
- The
TextEncoderinterface describing the inverse operation. StringView– a C-like representation of strings based on typed arrays- A shim allowing to use this interface in browsers that don't support it.
- Components.utils.importGlobalProperties