iconv(1)

NAME

   iconv - convert text from one character encoding to another

SYNOPSIS

   iconv [options] [-f from-encoding] [-t to-encoding] [inputfile]...

DESCRIPTION

   The iconv program reads in text in one encoding and outputs the text in
   another encoding.  If no input files are given, or if it is given as  a
   dash (-), iconv reads from standard input.  If no output file is given,
   iconv writes to standard output.

   If no from-encoding is given, the default is derived from  the  current
   locale's  character  encoding.  If no to-encoding is given, the default
   is derived from the current locale's character encoding.

OPTIONS

   -f from-encoding, --from-code=from-encoding
          Use from-encoding for input characters.

   -t to-encoding, --to-code=to-encoding
          Use to-encoding for output characters.

          If the string //IGNORE is appended  to  to-encoding,  characters
          that  cannot  be converted are discarded and an error is printed
          after conversion.

          If the string //TRANSLIT is appended to to-encoding,  characters
          being  converted  are  transliterated  when needed and possible.
          This means that when a character cannot be  represented  in  the
          target  character  set,  it  can  be approximated through one or
          several similar looking characters.  Characters that are outside
          of  the  target  character  set and cannot be transliterated are
          replaced with a question mark (?) in the output.

   -l, --list
          List all known character set encodings.

   -c     Silently discard characters that cannot be converted instead  of
          terminating when encountering such characters.

   -o outputfile, --output=outputfile
          Use outputfile for output.

   -s, --silent
          This option is ignored; it is provided only for compatibility.

   --verbose
          Print  progress  information  on  standard error when processing
          multiple files.

   -?, --help
          Print a usage summary and exit.

   --usage
          Print a short usage summary and exit.

   -V, --version
          Print the version number, license, and  disclaimer  of  warranty
          for iconv.

EXIT STATUS

   Zero on success, non-zero on errors.

ENVIRONMENT

   Internally,  the iconv program uses the iconv(3) function which in turn
   uses gconv modules (dynamically loaded shared libraries) to convert  to
   and  from  a character set.  Before calling iconv(3), the iconv program
   must first allocate a conversion descriptor using  iconv_open(3).   The
   operation  of  the  latter function is influenced by the setting of the
   GCONV_PATH environment variable:

   *  If GCONV_PATH is not  set,  iconv_open(3)  loads  the  system  gconv
      module  configuration cache file created by iconvconfig(8) and then,
      based on the  configuration,  loads  the  gconv  modules  needed  to
      perform  the  conversion.   If the system gconv module configuration
      cache  file  is  not  available  then  the   system   gconv   module
      configuration file is used.

   *  If  GCONV_PATH  is defined (as a colon-separated list of pathnames),
      the system gconv module configuration cache is not  used.   Instead,
      iconv_open(3)  first  tries  to  load  the  configuration  files  by
      searching the directories in GCONV_PATH in order,  followed  by  the
      system default gconv module configuration file.  If a directory does
      not contain a gconv module configuration  file,  any  gconv  modules
      that  it  may  contain are ignored.  If a directory contains a gconv
      module configuration file and it is determined that a module  needed
      for  this  conversion is available in the directory, then the needed
      module is loaded from that directory, the order being such that  the
      first  suitable  module  found  in  GCONV_PATH is used.  This allows
      users to use custom modules and even replace system-provided modules
      by providing such modules in GCONV_PATH directories.

FILES

   /usr/lib/gconv
          Usual default gconv module path.

   /usr/lib/gconv/gconv-modules
          Usual system default gconv module configuration file.

   /usr/lib/gconv/gconv-modules.cache
          Usual system gconv module configuration cache.

CONFORMING TO

   POSIX.1-2001.

EXAMPLE

   Convert text from the ISO 8859-15 character encoding to UTF-8:

       $ iconv -f ISO-8859-15 -t UTF-8 < input.txt > output.txt

   The  next  example  converts  from UTF-8 to ASCII, transliterating when
   possible:

       $ echo abc     | iconv -f UTF-8 -t ASCII//TRANSLIT
       abc ss ? EUR abc

SEE ALSO

   locale(1), iconv(3), nl_langinfo(3), charsets(7), iconvconfig(8)

COLOPHON

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