RE: [xml-dev] xml with no -->"<?xml version?>"

["Michael Kay" <mike@saxonica.com>]

> Then what is the use of having the first line --><?xml version="1.0" 
> encoding="UTF-8"?>"

Having a positive statement that the encoding is UTF-8 ensures that the
parser doesn't have to guess the encoding. There's a complex set of rules
for guessing the encoding, it's not simply the case that UTF-8 is the
default.

It might also act as a signal to general-purpose text processing software,
for example a text editor or a browser, that the file you have just opened
is XML and that it's encoded in UTF-8. Without an XML declaration, how would
it know? 

Michael Kay
http://www.saxonica.com/