Codec Base Classes
------------------
The `codecs' defines a set of base classes which define the interface
and can also be used to easily write you own codecs for use in Python.
Each codec has to define four interfaces to make it usable as codec in
Python: stateless encoder, stateless decoder, stream reader and stream
writer. The stream reader and writers typically reuse the stateless
encoder/decoder to implement the file protocols.
The `Codec' class defines the interface for stateless encoders/decoders.
To simplify and standardize error handling, the `encode()' and
`decode()' methods may implement different error handling schemes by
providing the ERRORS string argument. The following string values are
defined and implemented by all standard Python codecs:
Value Meaning
------ -----
'strict' Raise `ValueError' (or a subclass);
this is the default.
'ignore' Ignore the character and continue
with the next.
'replace' Replace with a suitable replacement
character; Python will use the
official U+FFFD REPLACEMENT
CHARACTER for the built-in Unicode
codecs.