C# Unicode string output

Question

I have a function to convert a string to a Unicode string:

private string UnicodeString(string text)
{
    return Encoding.UTF8.GetString(Encoding.ASCII.GetB         


        

Answer 1

private string UnicodeString(string text)
{
    return text;
}

The string text is already in Unicode. All internal C# strings are Unicode. When you convert it to ASCII you lose characters. That is why you get ????? ????.

Answer 2

Just do plain simple Console.WriteLine("добры дзень"); no need for any conversion.

Answer 3

First, change the output encoding to UTF8:

Console.OutputEncoding = Encoding.UTF8;
Console.WriteLine("добры дзень");

Now you'll still see question marks. The reason is that the default console's font doesn't support Cyrillic letters. Change the font of the console:

If you're lucky, you should find a different font with Unicode support:

Change the font, and you should be able to see your text:

In the general case, if you want to display all Unicode characters reliably, the Console is probably not right for you. See also: C# console font (the comments are interesting too)