Re: convert encoding

First of all, I would question why you are using Data::Dumper at all, as there are formats that lend themselves to serialization a bit better, like JSON, YAML, or XML. If you could explain a bit more about what you need this for, and also show an SSCCE so we could see the problem for ourselves, we could maybe suggest a better solution.

The traditional way to convert the output of Data::Dumper back into Perl data is using eval.

However, the following can pose a large security risk as eval will execute any code you give it!

use open qw/ :std :utf8 /; # for printing to console

my $data = q{ "Nach R\x{fc}cksprache mit" };
print "<$data>\n";
my $str = eval $data;
print "<$str>\n";
[download]

One way one might try to lower the security risk is Safe, but configuring that is a bit tricky, and it is still possible to accidentally leave a door open for an attacker.

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Re^2: convert encoding by Corion (Patriarch) on Feb 23, 2017 at 09:54 UTC
There also is Data::Undump, which parses a (simple) Data::Dumper string and returns the resulting data structure without needing `eval`.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: convert encoding by rumpumpel1 (Novice) on Feb 23, 2017 at 10:20 UTC
I'm using Data::Dumper because I have a complex XML structure which I need to have in a human readable format. Data::Dumper does a very nice job except for the encoding.	[reply]
Re^3: convert encoding by haukex (Archbishop) on Feb 23, 2017 at 10:31 UTC
I'm using Data::Dumper because I have a complex XML structure which I need to have in a human readable format. Data::Dumper is really more of a debugging aid than a pretty-printer. You could try out some other modules, such as Data::Printer. See also Data::Dumper with unicode for a question quite similar to yours. `use open qw/ :std :utf8 /; use Data::Printer; my $str = "Nach R\x{fc}cksprache mit"; p $str;` [download] Next time, please provide all the information that you have split into multiple posts in this thread into a single post. I know what I mean. Why don't you?	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: convert encoding by rumpumpel1 (Novice) on Feb 23, 2017 at 10:09 UTC
your code (on Windows) produces instead of the 'ü' a strange looking character which I can not show here. The encoding seems to have changed, but not in the intended way.	[reply]
Re^3: convert encoding by soonix (Chancellor) on Feb 24, 2017 at 14:13 UTC
This specific problem can be addressed by `binmode STDOUT, ':encoding(cp437)';` [download] (The number is referring to the code page, and has to be adjusted according to your configuration. The DOS command `chcp` can tell you which code page is in use in your CLI)	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^3: convert encoding by haukex (Archbishop) on Feb 23, 2017 at 10:22 UTC
I admit I did only test my code on Linux (where it produces the "ü"). However, given your post here, I am wondering whether Data::Dumper is the best choice. If you could explain what you are trying to accomplish in that code, that would help us help you. See also How do I post a question effectively?	[reply]