All I want for Christmas ...

... is to settle these encoding issues 
once and for all.

Let's override the accessor methods, which 
seems to offer a simpler solution.

Now with tests (for whatever that helps)...

app/controllers/wiki_controller.rb

@@ -389,7 +389,6 @@ class WikiController < ApplicationController
   def load_page
     @page_name = params['id'] ? params['id'].purify : nil
     @page = @wiki.read_page(@web_name, @page_name) if @page_name
-    @page.name.as_utf8 if @page
   end
 
   private

app/models/page.rb

@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ class Page < ActiveRecord::Base
   has_many :wiki_references, :order => 'referenced_name'
   has_one :current_revision, :class_name => 'Revision', :order => 'id DESC'
 
+  def name
+    read_attribute(:name).as_utf8
+  end
+
   def revise(content, name, time, author, renderer)
     revisions_size = new_record? ? 0 : revisions.size
     if (revisions_size > 0) and content == current_revision.content and name == self.name
@@ -65,7 +69,7 @@ class Page < ActiveRecord::Base
   end
 
   def wiki_words
-    wiki_references.select { |ref| ref.wiki_word? }.map { |ref| ref.referenced_name.as_utf8 }
+    wiki_references.select { |ref| ref.wiki_word? }.map { |ref| ref.referenced_name }
   end
 
   def linked_from
@@ -73,7 +77,7 @@ class Page < ActiveRecord::Base
   end
 
   def redirects
-    wiki_references.select { |ref| ref.redirected_page? }.map { |ref| ref.referenced_name.as_utf8 }
+    wiki_references.select { |ref| ref.redirected_page? }.map { |ref| ref.referenced_name }
   end  
 
   def included_from
@@ -82,7 +86,7 @@ class Page < ActiveRecord::Base
 
   # Returns the original wiki-word name as separate words, so "MyPage" becomes "My Page".
   def plain_name
-    web.brackets_only? ? CGI.escapeHTML(name) : CGI.escapeHTML(WikiWords.separate(name))
+    web.brackets_only? ? name.escapeHTML : WikiWords.separate(name).escapeHTML
   end
 
   LOCKING_PERIOD = 30.minutes

app/models/revision.rb

@@ -1,4 +1,8 @@
 class Revision < ActiveRecord::Base
   belongs_to :page
   composed_of :author, :mapping => [ %w(author name), %w(ip ip) ]
+
+  def content
+    read_attribute(:content).as_utf8
+  end
 end

app/models/wiki_reference.rb

@@ -12,6 +12,10 @@ class WikiReference < ActiveRecord::Base
   belongs_to :page
   validates_inclusion_of :link_type, :in => [LINKED_PAGE, WANTED_PAGE, REDIRECTED_PAGE, INCLUDED_PAGE, CATEGORY, AUTHOR, FILE, WANTED_FILE]
 
+  def referenced_name
+    read_attribute(:referenced_name).as_utf8
+  end
+
   def self.link_type(web, page_name)
     if web.has_page?(page_name) || self.page_that_redirects_for(web, page_name)
       LINKED_PAGE
@@ -93,7 +97,7 @@ class WikiReference < ActiveRecord::Base
       "ON wiki_references.page_id = pages.id " +
       "WHERE wiki_references.link_type = '#{CATEGORY}' " +
       "AND pages.web_id = '#{web.id}'"
-    connection.select_all(query).map { |row| row['referenced_name'] }
+    connection.select_all(query).map { |row| row['referenced_name'].as_utf8 }
   end
 
   def wiki_word?

test/functional/wiki_controller_test.rb

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
+#coding: utf-8
 
 # Uncomment the line below to enable pdflatex tests; don't forget to comment them again 
 # commiting to SVN
@@ -442,15 +443,16 @@ class WikiControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
   end
   
   def test_recently_revised_with_categorized_page
-    page2 = @wiki.write_page('wiki1', 'Page2',
+    page2 = @wiki.write_page('wiki1', "Pagé",
         "Page2 contents.\n" +
-        "category: categorized", 
+        "category: categorizé", 
-        Time.now, Author.new('AnotherAuthor', '127.0.0.2'), x_test_renderer)
+        Time.now, Author.new("André Auteur", '127.0.0.2'), x_test_renderer)
       
     r = process('recently_revised', 'web' => 'wiki1')
     assert_response(:success)
     
-    assert_equal %w(animals categorized trees), r.template_objects['categories']
+    c = ''.respond_to?(:force_encoding) ? "categoriz\u00E9" : "categoriz\303\251"
+    assert_equal ['animals',  c,  'trees'], r.template_objects['categories']
     # no category is specified in params
     assert_nil r.template_objects['category']
     assert_equal [@elephant, pages(:first_page), @home, pages(:my_way), pages(:no_wiki_word), @oak, page2, pages(:smart_engine), pages(:that_way), @liquor], r.template_objects['pages_in_category'],
@@ -676,7 +678,7 @@ class WikiControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
   end
 
   def test_save_astral_plane_characters
-    r = process 'save', 'web' => 'wiki1', 'id' => 'NewPage', 'content' => "Double-struck A: \xF0\x9D\x94\xB8", 
+    r = process 'save', 'web' => 'wiki1', 'id' => 'NewPage', 'content' => "Double-struck A: \360\235\224\270", 
       'author' => "\xF0\x9D\x94\xB8\xC3\xBCthorOfNewPage"
     
     assert_redirected_to :web => 'wiki1', :controller => 'wiki', :action => 'show', :id => 'NewPage'
@@ -686,7 +688,7 @@ class WikiControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
     a = ''.respond_to?(:force_encoding) ? "\u{1D538}\u00FCthorOfNewPage" :
                                           "\360\235\224\270\303\274thorOfNewPage"
     assert_equal a, new_page.author
-    assert_equal "\360\235\224\270\303\274thorOfNewPage", r.cookies['author']
+    assert_equal "\xF0\x9D\x94\xB8\xC3\xBCthorOfNewPage".as_bytes, r.cookies['author']
   end
 
   def test_save_not_utf8
@@ -972,7 +974,7 @@ class WikiControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
     r = process('show', 'id' => 'HomePage', 'web' => 'wiki1')
 
     assert_response :success
-    assert_match /<em>Recursive include detected: HomePage \342\206\222 HomePage<\/em>/, r.body.as_bytes
+    assert_match /<em>Recursive include detected: HomePage \342\206\222 HomePage<\/em>/, r.body
   end
 
   def test_recursive_include_II
@@ -984,7 +986,7 @@ class WikiControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
     r = process('show', 'id' => 'HomePage', 'web' => 'wiki1')
 
     assert_response :success
-    assert_match /<p>Recursive-include:<\/p>\n\n<p>extra fun <em>Recursive include detected: Foo \342\206\222 Foo<\/em><\/p>/, r.body.as_bytes
+    assert_match /<p>Recursive-include:<\/p>\n\n<p>extra fun <em>Recursive include detected: Foo \342\206\222 Foo<\/em><\/p>/, r.body
   end
   
   def test_recursive_include_III
@@ -998,7 +1000,7 @@ class WikiControllerTest < ActionController::TestCase
     r = process('show', 'id' => 'HomePage', 'web' => 'wiki1')
 
     assert_response :success
-    assert_match /<p>Recursive-include:<\/p>\n\n<p>extra fun<\/p>\n<em>Recursive include detected: Bar \342\206\222 Bar<\/em>/, r.body.as_bytes
+    assert_match /<p>Recursive-include:<\/p>\n\n<p>extra fun<\/p>\n<em>Recursive include detected: Bar \342\206\222 Bar<\/em>/, r.body
   end
 
   def test_nonrecursive_include

test/unit/page_test.rb

@@ -132,19 +132,19 @@ class PageTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     
     references = new_page.wiki_references(true)
     assert_equal 2, references.size
-    assert_equal "H\xC3\xA1ppyPage", references[0].referenced_name
+    p = ''.respond_to?(:force_encoding) ? "H\u00E1ppyPage" : "H\303\241ppyPage"
+    assert_equal p, references[0].referenced_name
     assert_equal WikiReference::WANTED_PAGE, references[0].link_type
     assert_equal 'WantedPage2', references[1].referenced_name
     assert_equal WikiReference::WANTED_PAGE, references[1].link_type
     wanted_pages = web.select.wanted_pages
-    a = ''.respond_to?(:force_encoding) ? ["HisWay", "H\u00E1ppyPage", "OverThere", "WantedPage2"] : ["HisWay", "H\303\241ppyPage", "OverThere", "WantedPage2"]
+    assert_equal ["HisWay", p, "OverThere", "WantedPage2"], wanted_pages
-    assert_equal a, wanted_pages
 
     my_page = Page.new(:web => web, :name => 'MyPage')
     my_page.revise("[[!redirects H\xC3\xA1ppyPage]]\nAnd here it is!", 'MyPage', Time.now, 'AlexeyVerkhovsky', x_test_renderer)
     my_references = my_page.wiki_references(true)
     assert_equal 1, my_references.size
-    assert_equal "H\xC3\xA1ppyPage", my_references[0].referenced_name
+    assert_equal p, my_references[0].referenced_name
     assert_equal WikiReference::REDIRECTED_PAGE, my_references[0].link_type
     wanted_pages = web.select.wanted_pages
     assert_equal ["HisWay", "OverThere", "WantedPage2"], wanted_pages
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ class PageTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
     assert_match( s,
          x_test_renderer(new_page.revisions.last).display_content(true) )
     assert_equal 2, references.size
-    assert_equal "H\xC3\xA1ppyPage", references[0].referenced_name
+    assert_equal p, references[0].referenced_name
 #   Doesn't work, since picking up the change in wiki_references requires a database query.
 #    assert_equal WikiReference::LINKED_PAGE, references[0].link_type
     assert_equal 'WantedPage2', references[1].referenced_name
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ class PageTest < ActiveSupport::TestCase
          x_test_renderer(new_page.revisions.last).display_content(true) )
     assert_equal 3, references.size
 #   now it works.
-    assert_equal "H\xC3\xA1ppyPage", references[0].referenced_name
+    assert_equal p, references[0].referenced_name
     assert_equal WikiReference::LINKED_PAGE, references[0].link_type
     assert_equal 'WantedPage2', references[1].referenced_name
     assert_equal WikiReference::WANTED_PAGE, references[1].link_type