String.Left fails with nil encoding on a Korean-language macOS system

Targets macOS
12

I did more testing, and the plot thickens:
I have a simple app which runs this code:

  Dim s as string = "Audio and Video © by their respective owners"
  
  s = s.DefineEncoding(nil)
  
  dim r as string
  dim s2 as string = s.left(17)
  dim n2 as integer = lenB(s2)
  r = "Encoding: nil Left(17).LenB = " + str(n2) + " '" + s2 + "'"
  
  label1.Text = r

I then test the app on Engligsh and Korean versions of macOS.

  • Built with Xojo 2019R1.1, on Korean systems we see Left(17).LenB = 18.
  • Built with REALstudio 2011R3, on Korean systems we see Left(17).LenB = 17.
  • On English systems, 2011R3 and 2019R1 always return Left(17).LenB = 17

So, somewhere between 2011 and 2019 versions of Xojo the behvior changed. The older behavior (in which nil encoding was treated as a bag of bytes regardless of OS settings) was preferable. The newer behavior is more dangerous.

Was this change intentional?

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