> Then what is the use of having the first line --><?xml version="1.0"
> encoding="UTF-8"?>"
Having a positive statement that the encoding is UTF-8 ensures that the
parser doesn't have to guess the encoding. There's a complex set of rules
for guessing the encoding, it's not simply the case that UTF-8 is the
default.
It might also act as a signal to general-purpose text processing software,
for example a text editor or a browser, that the file you have just opened
is XML and that it's encoded in UTF-8. Without an XML declaration, how would
it know?
Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/
