What is the correct encoding for Indy Tidhttp for posting XML Files?

Question

I notice I have invalid characters for XML files in an application who use Indy Client (I actually use default parameters for IdHttp)

Here is my code :

  ts := TStringList.Create;
  try
    ts.Add('XML=' + AXMLDoc.XML.Text));
    HTTPString := IdHTTPClient.Post('http://' + FHost + ':' + IntToStr(FPort) + FHttpRoot, ts);
  finally
    ts.Free;
  end;

My XML file is UTF-8 encoded.

What I have to do get good encoding on my server (I also use Indy for server) ?

Answer 1

UTF-8 is the default charset that TIdHTTP uses for submitting a TStringList object. The real issue is that XML should not be submitted using a TStringList to begin with, even with a proper charset. The reason is because the TIdHTTP.Post(TStrings) method implements the application/x-www-form-urlencoded content type, and thus url-encodes the TStringList content, which can break XML if the receiver is not expecting that. So unless the receiver is actually expecting a real application/x-www-form-urlencoded encoded request, XML should be transmitted using the TIdHTTP.Post(TStream) method instead so the raw XML bytes are preserved as-is.