Default locale is not UTF-8

[synergiator]

By default, this image uses POSIX locale settings. Maybe it could be a goof idea to make e.g. C.UTF-8 default - which is also installed but I have troubles switching inside Docker to it, need to do dpkg-reconfigure, xterm setup etc. UTF-8 should be ok as default, or?

thx
best regards
1605200517

[ljluestc]

Here's why using C.UTF-8 as the default locale is beneficial:

Wide Character Encoding Support: UTF-8 is a character encoding that supports a vast range of characters from different languages and scripts. By setting the default locale to C.UTF-8, you ensure that your application can handle diverse character encodings correctly.

Avoiding Locale-Specific Bugs: Using a specific locale (e.g., en_US.UTF-8) can sometimes lead to unexpected behavior if your application relies on locale settings for text processing. The C or C.UTF-8 locale is a "safe" option that avoids locale-specific issues.

Consistent Behavior: Using a single, consistent locale like C.UTF-8 can help ensure that your application behaves predictably across different environments and locales.

To set the default locale to C.UTF-8 in your Docker image, you can use environment variables in your Dockerfile. Here's an example of how you might do this:

# Use a suitable base image
FROM debian:bullseye

# Set the environment variables to configure the locale
ENV LANG C.UTF-8
ENV LC_ALL C.UTF-8

# Install your application and perform other necessary steps
# ...

# Specify the command to run your application
CMD ["your-application-command"]

By setting the LANG and LC_ALL environment variables to C.UTF-8, you ensure that the default locale is C.UTF-8 for all subsequent commands and processes in the container.

If you're having trouble switching to the C.UTF-8 locale inside Docker and need to run dpkg-reconfigure or other setup commands, it might be due to the environment not being fully interactive. In such cases, you can automate these setup commands in your Dockerfile to ensure that the desired configuration is applied consistently. However, if you find that these steps are causing complications or increasing the complexity of your Dockerfile, setting C.UTF-8 as the default locale from the beginning should help mitigate these issues.

Keep in mind that setting the default locale to C.UTF-8 is generally a good practice for containers that handle text-based operations and want to ensure consistent behavior across various locales.