The fundamental question is: can you directly compare bytes? If you can, then how you choose to interpret those bytes is irrelevant. If you cannot, then you m

The fundamental question is: can you directly compare bytes? If you can, then how you choose to interpret those bytes is irrelevant. If you cannot, then you must learn when multiple bytes have the same meaning or when a byte in a different context should have a different meaning. The latter case is much more complex for the computer as it requires parsing instead of comparison and is more complex for the programmer as it requires understanding of every supported difference (plus learning new ones as they are added).