Optionally, the System.Text.UnicodeEncoding object provides a preamble that is an array of bytes that can be prefixed to the sequence of bytes resulting from the encoding process. If the preamble contains a byte order mark (in Unicode, code point U+FEFF), it helps the decoder determine the byte order and the transformation format or UTF.

The Unicode byte order mark (BOM) is serialized as follows (in hexadecimal):

• Big endian byte order: 00 00 FE FF

• Little endian byte order: FF FE 00 00

Your applications are recommended to use the BOM, as it provides nearly certain identification of an encoding for files that otherwise have lost reference to the UnicodeEncoding object, for example, untagged or improperly tagged web data or random text files stored when a business did not have international concerns or other data. Often user problems might be avoided if data is consistently and properly tagged.

For standards that provide an encoding type, a BOM is somewhat redundant. However, it can be used to help a server send the correct encoding header. Alternatively, it can be used as a fallback in case the encoding is otherwise lost.

There are some disadvantages to using a BOM. For example, knowing how to limit the database fields that use a BOM can be difficult. Concatenation of files can be a problem also, for example, when files are merged in such a way that an unnecessary character can end up in the middle of data. In spite of the few disadvantages, however, the use of a BOM is highly recommended.

Namespace: System.Text
Assembly: mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)
Assembly Versions: 1.0.5000.0, 2.0.0.0, 4.0.0.0