The recode program has the purpose of converting files between various character sets and usages. When exact transliterations are not possible, as it is often the case, the program may get rid of the offending characters or fall back on approximations.
Let us coin the term charset to represent, without distinction, a character set "per se" or a particular usage of a character set. This program recognizes or produces around 150 such charsets. Since it can convert each charset to almost any other one, many thousands of different conversions are possible.
This tool pays special attention to superimposition of diacritics for French representation. This orientation is mostly historical, it does not impair the usefulness, generality or extensibility of the program.
