Problems to get the correct Ascii code from a char

Question

We need convert each of the chars into a string to a short number, send it to another application and then convert again each short to a char, and so retrieve the original string.
We have tested this piece of code to convert from char to short and again from short to char:
private static BufferedReader stdin = new BufferedReader (new
InputStreamReader(System.in)); private static String user_key;
String texto = "aeiounAEIOUN0123456789" ;
for (int aux=0; aux<texto.length(); aux++)
c = texto.charAt(aux); s = (short)c;
System.out.printin ("char = '" + c + "' short = " + s);
// Each time that the user press a key, we process a new char
// from the String.
try {user_key = stdln.readLine();} catch (lOException io) {}
And when the program process the � (ascii 164) and � (ascii 165) chars, it does not work right.
The output is:
char='?' short=241
char='D' short=209
Instead, if we read directly from the keyboard, this code works right:
while (true)
try {user_key = stdln.readLine();} catch (lOException io) {}
c = user_key.charAt(0); s = (short)c;
System.out.printin ("char = '" + c + "' short = " + s);
And we get these outputs when we press the � (ascii 164) and � (ascii 165) keys:
char='?' short=164
char='?' short=165
Please can you say me how can I change the first piece of code to it works right with the 'n' and 'N' chars?
Thanks in advance
Jos?

Answer 1

Run your application with "java -Dfile.encoding=CP850 ClassName", or change the encoding on run time to CP850 by using the appropriate constructor of InputStreamReader.
I recommend the first option since the problem doesn't exist outside the DOS console of Microsoft Windows. If you use the second approach your program wont be portable.