buffer.toString() not working correctly

[zetxx]

Hi there,
following your example on: http://nodejs.org/api/buffer.html#buffer_buf_write_string_offset_length_encoding im trying to make buffer.toString() as follows

buf = new Buffer(256); len = buf.write('\u00bd + \u00bc = \u00be', 0); buf.toString('utf8', 0, len); buf.toString(0, len); buf.toString(undefined, 1, len);
it works as expected but when i try to do following:
buf.toString(1, len);
it ends with error TypeError: Unknown encoding: 1

[Spekpannenkoek]

Buffer checks the encoding with if (!encoding) encoding = 'utf8'; (source).
That means that:

buf.toString('utf8', 0, len);    // OK, everything is specified
buf.toString(0, len);            // Encoding is false-y, thus defaults to UTF-8, 
                                 // "start" - not "end" - is equal to "len"!
buf.toString(undefined, 1, len); // OK, everything is specified, encoding defaults to UTF-8.
buf.toString(1, len);            // Encoding is set to "1". That's not a valid value. 

If anything, I'd call it a documentation error, rather than a proper bug.

[zetxx]

so maybe it should be fixed in docs :)

[jasnell]

While the docs could likely be a bit clearer, looking it over now the error you're getting appears to be the correct behavior. toString is working as it is supposed to.