Utf8 To Cp1252 Conversion

UTF-8 to CP1252 Encoding Conversion

CRITICAL — Agent Execution Rules

These rules are MANDATORY. Any violation causes compilation failures and file corruption.

1. ALWAYS use the provided scripts — NEVER attempt manual encoding conversion (e.g., Python, Node.js, or copying content to a new file).
2. Conversion is IN-PLACE — The script replaces the original file. The filename and extension do NOT change. A .tlpp file stays .tlpp, a .prw stays .prw.
3. NEVER create files with .cp1252 extension — There is no such convention. Files keep their original extension (.prw, .prg, .tlpp, .prx, .ch, .th).
4. NEVER create backup copies or duplicate files — No .bak, .orig, .utf8, .old, or any other copy. Only the converted file must exist.
5. NEVER rename files during conversion — The filename must remain exactly the same before and after conversion.
6. VERIFY after conversion — Run file --mime-encoding <file> (Linux/macOS) to confirm the result is iso-8859-1 or unknown-8bit, NOT utf-8.
7. ONE final state — After this skill runs, only the original file (now CP1252-encoded) must exist. Zero temporary files, zero copies, zero artifacts.

Overview

Convert AdvPL and TLPP source files from UTF-8 encoding to Windows-1252 (CP1252). The Protheus compiler (AdvPL, AdvPL ASP, 4GL, and 4GLP) only supports files encoded in CP1252 (Windows code page 1252). AI agents and modern editors create files in UTF-8 by default, which causes compilation errors and corrupted characters (mojibake) when compiled by TDS/AppServer.

This skill provides two native scripts (zero external dependencies) that safely convert file encoding with BOM detection and batch processing support:

• Bash + iconv → Linux and macOS (both pre-installed)
• PowerShell + .NET Encoding → Windows (both pre-installed)

Source: TDN Documentation — "Os compiladores Protheus (AdvPL, AdvPL Asp, 4GL e 4GLP) suportam apenas os arquivos com código de página CP1252." (Informações sobre a gravação de arquivos-fontes)

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• After any code generation — any skill that creates .prw, .prg, .tlpp, or .prx files (e.g., mvc-generator, tlpp-rest-endpoint-generator, entry-point-designer)
• After code migration — advpl-to-tlpp-migration
• After code refactoring — refactor, refactor-method-complexity-reduce
• When compilation fails with encoding-related errors (garbled characters, invalid syntax from bad encoding)
• When SonarQube flags rule CA0000 with "wrong charset" as the cause
• When converting files received from external sources in UTF-8

Do NOT use when:

• Files are already in CP1252 encoding
• Working with non-Protheus source files (Python, JavaScript, etc.)
• Working with REST API response encoding (use Charset configuration instead)

Why CP1252?

The TOTVS Protheus platform was designed around the Windows-1252 code page:

1. Compiler requirement — TDS and AppServer compilers parse source files assuming CP1252 byte sequences
2. String literals — accented characters in Portuguese (à, é, ç, ã, õ) have different byte representations in UTF-8 vs CP1252
3. Runtime behavior — functions like EncodeUTF8() and DecodeUTF8() explicitly expect CP1252 as the source/target encoding
4. SonarQube compliance — rule CA0000 flags files with incorrect charset as MAJOR severity

Character Encoding Differences

Conversion Scripts

This skill includes two native scripts — use the one matching your operating system:

Note: The .bat script uses PowerShell inline via -Command (not .ps1 files), so it works regardless of the PowerShell execution policy. It runs from CMD, double-click, or any terminal.

Prerequisites

• Linux/macOS: Bash and iconv (pre-installed on all distributions)
• Windows: PowerShell 2.0+ (pre-installed since Windows 7) — called internally by the .bat script

Usage

Linux / macOS (Bash)

Convert a single file

bash scripts/convert-encoding.sh path/to/source.tlpp

Convert multiple files

bash scripts/convert-encoding.sh file1.prw file2.prg file3.tlpp

Convert all AdvPL/TLPP files in a directory (recursive)

bash scripts/convert-encoding.sh -r path/to/src/

Dry run (check which files would be converted)

bash scripts/convert-encoding.sh --dry-run -r path/to/src/

Windows (CMD)

Convert a single file

scripts\convert-encoding.bat path\to\source.tlpp

Convert multiple files

scripts\convert-encoding.bat file1.prw file2.prg file3.tlpp

Convert all AdvPL/TLPP files in a directory (recursive)

scripts\convert-encoding.bat /r path\to\src\

Dry run (check which files would be converted)

scripts\convert-encoding.bat /dryrun /r path\to\src\

Script Options

Bash (convert-encoding.sh)

PowerShell (convert-encoding.bat)

Script Features

• BOM detection — automatically detects and removes UTF-8 BOM (Byte Order Mark)
• Encoding detection — identifies whether a file is already CP1252 or needs conversion
• Safe conversion — handles unmappable characters with warnings
• Batch processing — processes entire directory trees recursively
• Zero dependencies — Bash+iconv on Linux/macOS, CMD+PowerShell inline on Windows
• Exit codes — returns 0 on success, 1 on errors (integrable with CI/CD pipelines)

Integration with Code Generation Skills

After any code generation or migration skill creates AdvPL/TLPP source files, the encoding conversion must be performed as a final step. The workflow is:

1. Agent generates/modifies .prw/.prg/.tlpp/.prx files (UTF-8 — default encoding from AI)
2. Agent runs the conversion script on the generated files (IN-PLACE, same filename)
3. Agent verifies encoding with: file --mime-encoding <file>
4. RESULT: Only the original file exists, now encoded in CP1252 — NO extra files

FORBIDDEN: Creating new files with .cp1252 extension, creating backup copies, renaming files, or leaving any temporary artifacts. The script converts the file in-place — the same file, same name, same extension, different encoding.

Example: After MVC Generator

# Linux/macOS:
bash skills/advpl-tlpp/utf8-to-cp1252-conversion/scripts/convert-encoding.sh \
  src/MyModule.prw

# Windows (CMD):
scripts\convert-encoding.bat src\MyModule.prw

Example: After Batch Migration

# Linux/macOS:
bash skills/advpl-tlpp/utf8-to-cp1252-conversion/scripts/convert-encoding.sh -r migrated/

# Windows (CMD):
scripts\convert-encoding.bat /r migrated\

Post-Conversion Verification

After converting files, verify the encoding is correct:

Using file command (Linux/macOS)

file --mime-encoding source.tlpp
# Expected: iso-8859-1 or unknown-8bit (CP1252 is a superset of ISO-8859-1)
# NOT expected: utf-8

Using PowerShell (Windows)

powershell -NoProfile -Command "$bytes=[IO.File]::ReadAllBytes('source.tlpp'); $u=[Text.UTF8Encoding]::new($false,$true); try{$u.GetString($bytes); Write-Host 'WARNING: File is still UTF-8'}catch{Write-Host 'OK: File is not UTF-8 (likely CP1252)'}"

Troubleshooting

Characters replaced with ? after conversion

Some Unicode characters don't have CP1252 equivalents (e.g., emoji, CJK characters). The script replaces them with ? and prints a warning. Review the source for non-Latin characters.

File already in CP1252

The script detects files that are already in CP1252 and skips them with an informational message. No action needed.

BOM detected in file

UTF-8 BOM (0xEF 0xBB 0xBF) is automatically stripped during conversion. The script logs this detection.

SonarQube Rule Reference

Files encoded in UTF-8 will trigger CA0000 when multi-byte characters are interpreted as invalid syntax by the CP1252-expecting compiler.