Prefer charset declaration in HTML meta tag or HTTP header?

Question

I\'m parsing a lot of sites. All works fine, I\'m reading also charset declarations to convert encodings. Now I\'ve a problem with http://celleheute.de/sonntagsfuhrung-3/.

Answer 1

There's simply no answer to this. The author of the page has committed an error by giving conflicting information. Which one is correct may as well be decided by a coin toss.

In general, I'd prefer the HTTP header as the primary value. The meta tag is just meant as a fallback anyway. If you want to follow any logic at all, first try to decode the document using the charset specified in the HTTP header. If that clearly fails, because certain bytes are invalid in the given encoding, try again in the charset specified in the meta tag, if any. If that still fails, all bets are off.

If neither fails but the encodings conflict, either involve a human or try some statical analysis on the decoded text, which may tell you which is more likely to be correct.