So if you know how the algorithm to figure out the encoding, you can open in byte mode, check the data, and binmode with the appropriate encoding layer.
Encode::Guess can be used to guess the actual encoding, but it shouldn't be neccessary (if you're lucky), as the xml file should specify the encoding, as in <?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>

MJD says "you can't just make shit up and expect the computer to know what you mean, retardo!"
I run a Win32 PPM repository for perl 5.6.x and 5.8.x -- I take requests (README).
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In reply to Re^2: how do I check encoding before opening FILEHANDLE by PodMaster
in thread how do I check encoding before opening FILEHANDLE by dbrock

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