diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 1bbe4c827..0bb0fd488 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,10 @@
+2000-09-30  Richard Frith-Macdonald <rfm@gnu.org>
+
+	* Source/NSString.m: ([-initWithUTFString:length:]),
+	([-initWithData:encoding]) create UTF strings as 8-bit strings if
+	they actually only contain ascii characters.
+	* Source/GSXML.m: Create strings from UTF8 data throughout.
+
 2000-09-29  Richard Frith-Macdonald <rfm@gnu.org>
 
 	* Source/GSCompatibility.m: Fix stupid error in last modification -
diff --git a/Source/GSXML.m b/Source/GSXML.m
index 178509090..b3edce708 100644
--- a/Source/GSXML.m
+++ b/Source/GSXML.m
@@ -47,10 +47,27 @@ extern int xmlGetWarningsDefaultValue;
  *
  */
 static Class NSString_class;
-static IMP csImp;
-static IMP cslImp;
-static SEL csSel = @selector(stringWithCString:);
-static SEL cslSel = @selector(stringWithCString:length:);
+static IMP usImp;
+static SEL usSel = @selector(stringWithUTF8String:);
+
+inline static NSString*
+UTF8Str(const char *bytes)
+{
+  return (*usImp)(NSString_class, usSel, bytes);
+}
+
+inline static NSString*
+UTF8StrLen(const char *bytes, unsigned length)
+{
+  char		*buf = NSZoneMalloc(NSDefaultMallocZone(), length+1);
+  NSString	*str;
+
+  memcpy(buf, bytes, length);
+  buf[length] = '\0';
+  str = UTF8Str(buf);
+  NSZoneFree(NSDefaultMallocZone(), buf);
+  return str;
+}
 
 static BOOL cacheDone = NO;
 
@@ -61,8 +78,7 @@ setupCache()
     {
       cacheDone = YES;
       NSString_class = [NSString class];
-      csImp = [NSString_class methodForSelector: csSel];
-      cslImp = [NSString_class methodForSelector: cslSel];
+      usImp = [NSString_class methodForSelector: usSel];
     }
 }
 
@@ -311,13 +327,13 @@ setupCache()
 /* return the namespace prefix  */
 - (NSString*) prefix
 {
-  return (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, ((xmlNsPtr)(lib))->prefix);
+  return UTF8Str(((xmlNsPtr)(lib))->prefix);
 }
 
 /* the namespace reference */
 - (NSString*) href
 {
-  return (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, ((xmlNsPtr)(lib))->href);
+  return UTF8Str(((xmlNsPtr)(lib))->href);
 }
 
 /* type of namespace */
@@ -484,7 +500,7 @@ static NSMapTable	*nodeNames = 0;
 {
   if (((xmlNodePtr)lib)->content != NULL)
     {
-      return (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, ((xmlNodePtr)lib)->content);
+      return UTF8Str(((xmlNodePtr)lib)->content);
     }
   else
     {
@@ -496,7 +512,7 @@ static NSMapTable	*nodeNames = 0;
 {
   if (lib != NULL)
     {
-      return (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, ((xmlNodePtr)lib)->name);
+      return UTF8Str(((xmlNodePtr)lib)->name);
     }
   else
     {
@@ -543,13 +559,11 @@ static NSMapTable	*nodeNames = 0;
 	{
 	   const void	*content = prop->children->content;
 
-	   [d setObject: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, content)
-		 forKey: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)];
+	   [d setObject: UTF8Str(content) forKey: UTF8Str(name)];
 	}
       else
 	{
-	   [d setObject: @""
-		 forKey: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)];
+	   [d setObject: @"" forKey: UTF8Str(name)];
 	}
       prop = prop->next;
   }
@@ -777,8 +791,7 @@ static NSMapTable	*nodeNames = 0;
   if (((xmlNodePtr)lib)->children != NULL
     && ((xmlNodePtr)lib)->children->content != NULL)
     {
-      return (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel,
-	((xmlNodePtr)(lib))->children->content);
+      return UTF8Str(((xmlNodePtr)(lib))->children->content);
     }
   return nil;
 }
@@ -1272,9 +1285,9 @@ internalSubsetFunction(void *ctx, const char *name,
   const xmlChar *ExternalID, const xmlChar *SystemID)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER internalSubset: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
-	       externalID: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, ExternalID)
-		 systemID: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, SystemID)];
+  [HANDLER internalSubset: UTF8Str(name)
+	       externalID: UTF8Str(ExternalID)
+		 systemID: UTF8Str(SystemID)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1282,31 +1295,31 @@ externalSubsetFunction(void *ctx, const char *name,
   const xmlChar *ExternalID, const xmlChar *SystemID)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER externalSubset: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
-	       externalID: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, ExternalID)
-		 systemID: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, SystemID)];
+  [HANDLER externalSubset: UTF8Str(name)
+	       externalID: UTF8Str(ExternalID)
+		 systemID: UTF8Str(SystemID)];
 }
 
 static xmlParserInputPtr
 resolveEntityFunction(void *ctx, const char *publicId, const char *systemId)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  return [HANDLER resolveEntity: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, publicId)
-		       systemID: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, systemId)];
+  return [HANDLER resolveEntity: UTF8Str(publicId)
+		       systemID: UTF8Str(systemId)];
 }
 
 static xmlEntityPtr
 getEntityFunction(void *ctx, const char *name)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  return [HANDLER getEntity: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)];
+  return [HANDLER getEntity: UTF8Str(name)];
 }
 
 static xmlEntityPtr
 getParameterEntityFunction(void *ctx, const char *name)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  return [HANDLER getParameterEntity: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)];
+  return [HANDLER getParameterEntity: UTF8Str(name)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1314,11 +1327,11 @@ entityDeclFunction(void *ctx, const char *name, int type,
   const char *publicId, const char *systemId, char *content)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER entityDecl: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
+  [HANDLER entityDecl: UTF8Str(name)
 		 type: type
-	       public: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, publicId)
-	       system: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, systemId)
-	      content: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, content)];
+	       public: UTF8Str(publicId)
+	       system: UTF8Str(systemId)
+	      content: UTF8Str(content)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1326,11 +1339,11 @@ attributeDeclFunction(void *ctx, const char *elem, const char *name,
   int type, int def, const char *defaultValue, xmlEnumerationPtr tree)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER attributeDecl: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, elem)
-		    name: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
+  [HANDLER attributeDecl: UTF8Str(elem)
+		    name: UTF8Str(name)
 		    type: type
 	    typeDefValue: def
-	    defaultValue: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, defaultValue)];
+	    defaultValue: UTF8Str(defaultValue)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1338,7 +1351,7 @@ elementDeclFunction(void *ctx, const char *name, int type,
   xmlElementContentPtr content)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER elementDecl: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
+  [HANDLER elementDecl: UTF8Str(name)
 		  type: type];
 
 }
@@ -1348,9 +1361,9 @@ notationDeclFunction(void *ctx, const char *name,
   const char *publicId, const char *systemId)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER notationDecl: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
-		 public: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, publicId)
-		 system: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, systemId)];
+  [HANDLER notationDecl: UTF8Str(name)
+		 public: UTF8Str(publicId)
+		 system: UTF8Str(systemId)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1358,10 +1371,10 @@ unparsedEntityDeclFunction(void *ctx, const char *name,
   const char *publicId, const char *systemId, const char *notationName)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER unparsedEntityDecl: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
-		       public: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, publicId)
-		       system: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, systemId)
-		 notationName: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, notationName)];
+  [HANDLER unparsedEntityDecl: UTF8Str(name)
+		       public: UTF8Str(publicId)
+		       system: UTF8Str(systemId)
+		 notationName: UTF8Str(notationName)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1381,7 +1394,7 @@ startElementFunction(void *ctx, const char *name, const char **atts)
 	  [dict setObject: obj forKey: key];
 	}
     }
-  [HANDLER startElement: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)
+  [HANDLER startElement: UTF8Str(name)
 	     attributes: dict];
 }
 
@@ -1389,50 +1402,50 @@ static void
 endElementFunction(void *ctx, const char *name)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER endElement: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)];
+  [HANDLER endElement: UTF8Str(name)];
 }
 
 static void
 charactersFunction(void *ctx, const char *ch, int len)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER characters: (*cslImp)(NSString_class, cslSel, ch, len)];
+  [HANDLER characters: UTF8StrLen(ch, len)];
 }
 
 static void
 referenceFunction(void *ctx, const char *name)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER reference: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, name)];
+  [HANDLER reference: UTF8Str(name)];
 }
 
 static void
 ignorableWhitespaceFunction(void *ctx, const char *ch, int len)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER ignoreWhitespace: (*cslImp)(NSString_class, cslSel, ch, len)];
+  [HANDLER ignoreWhitespace: UTF8StrLen(ch, len)];
 }
 
 static void
 processInstructionFunction(void *ctx, const char *target,  const char *data)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER processInstruction: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, target)
-			 data: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, data)];
+  [HANDLER processInstruction: UTF8Str(target)
+			 data: UTF8Str(data)];
 }
 
 static void
 cdataBlockFunction(void *ctx, const char *value, int len)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER cdataBlock: (*cslImp)(NSString_class, cslSel, value, len)];
+  [HANDLER cdataBlock: UTF8StrLen(value, len)];
 }
 
 static void
 commentFunction(void *ctx, const char *value)
 {
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER comment: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, value)];
+  [HANDLER comment: UTF8Str(value)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1446,7 +1459,7 @@ warningFunction(void *ctx, const char *msg, ...)
   va_end(args);
 
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER warning: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, allMsg)];
+  [HANDLER warning: UTF8Str(allMsg)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1459,7 +1472,7 @@ errorFunction(void *ctx, const char *msg, ...)
   vsprintf(allMsg, msg, args);
   va_end(args);
   NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER error: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, allMsg)];
+  [HANDLER error: UTF8Str(allMsg)];
 }
 
 static void
@@ -1471,8 +1484,8 @@ fatalErrorFunction(void *ctx, const char *msg, ...)
   va_start(args, msg);
   vsprintf(allMsg, msg, args);
   va_end(args);
-  NSCAssert(ctx,@"No Context");
-  [HANDLER fatalError: (*csImp)(NSString_class, csSel, allMsg)];
+  NSCAssert(ctx, @"No Context");
+  [HANDLER fatalError: UTF8Str(allMsg)];
 }
 
 #undef	HANDLER
diff --git a/Source/NSGCString.m b/Source/NSGCString.m
index 719cb95ee..38957f944 100644
--- a/Source/NSGCString.m
+++ b/Source/NSGCString.m
@@ -125,17 +125,17 @@ static	IMP msInitImp;	/* designated initialiser for mutable	*/
 {
   _count = length;
   _contents_chars = (unsigned char*)byteString;
-  if (flag == NO)
+  if (flag == YES && byteString != 0)
     {
-      _zone = 0;
+#if	GS_WITH_GC
+      _zone = GSAtomicMallocZone();
+#else
+      _zone = NSZoneFromPointer(byteString);
+#endif
     }
   else
     {
-#if	GS_WITH_GC
-      _zone = byteString ? GSAtomicMallocZone() : 0;
-#else
-      _zone = byteString ? NSZoneFromPointer(byteString) : 0;
-#endif
+      _zone = 0;
     }
   return self;
 }
@@ -992,12 +992,12 @@ stringDecrementCountAndFillHoleAt(NSGMutableCStringStruct *self,
       _count = length;
       _capacity = length;
       _contents_chars = (unsigned char*)byteString;
-      if (flag == YES)
+      if (flag == YES && byteString != 0)
 	{
 #if	GS_WITH_GC
-	  _zone = (byteString != 0) ? GSAtomicMallocZone() : 0;
+	  _zone = GSAtomicMallocZone();
 #else
-	  _zone = (byteString != 0) ? NSZoneFromPointer(byteString) : 0;
+	  _zone = NSZoneFromPointer(byteString);
 #endif
 	}
       else
diff --git a/Source/NSGString.m b/Source/NSGString.m
index 671c406c4..a4bf1ecdc 100644
--- a/Source/NSGString.m
+++ b/Source/NSGString.m
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@
     {
       _count = length;
       _contents_chars = chars;
-      if (flag && chars)
+      if (flag == YES && chars != 0)
 	{
 #if	GS_WITH_GC
 	  _zone = GSAtomicMallocZone();
@@ -669,7 +669,7 @@ stringDecrementCountAndFillHoleAt(NSGMutableStringStruct *self,
       _count = length;
       _capacity = length;
       _contents_chars = chars;
-      if (flag && chars)
+      if (flag == YES && chars != 0)
 	{
 #if	GS_WITH_GC
 	  _zone = GSAtomicMallocZone();
diff --git a/Source/NSString.m b/Source/NSString.m
index f523da3d7..0cf32721d 100644
--- a/Source/NSString.m
+++ b/Source/NSString.m
@@ -309,7 +309,7 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
     NSDefaultMallocZone()] initWithCString: byteString length: length]);
 }
 
-+ (id)stringWithUTF8String:(const char *)bytes
++ (id) stringWithUTF8String: (const char *)bytes
 {
   return AUTORELEASE([[self allocWithZone: NSDefaultMallocZone()]
     initWithUTF8String: bytes]);
@@ -441,18 +441,38 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
   return self;
 }
 
-- (id) initWithUTF8String:(const char *)bytes
+- (id) initWithUTF8String: (const char *)bytes
 {
   unsigned	length = strlen(bytes);
 
   if (length > 0)
     {
-      unichar	*s = NSZoneMalloc(fastZone(self), sizeof(unichar)*length);
+      unsigned	i;
 
-      length = encode_strtoustr(s, bytes, length+1, NSUTF8StringEncoding);
-      self = [self initWithCharactersNoCopy: s
-				     length: length
-			       freeWhenDone: YES];
+      /*
+       * Check to see if we have in fact got an ascii string
+       */
+      for (i = 0; i < length; i++)
+	{
+	  if (((unsigned char*)bytes)[i] > 127)
+	    {
+	      break;
+	    }
+	}
+      if (i == length)
+	{
+	  self = [self initWithCString: bytes length: length];
+	}
+      else
+	{
+	  unichar	*s;
+
+	  s = NSZoneMalloc(fastZone(self), sizeof(unichar)*length);
+	  length = encode_strtoustr(s, bytes, length+1, NSUTF8StringEncoding);
+	  self = [self initWithCharactersNoCopy: s
+					 length: length
+				   freeWhenDone: YES];
+	}
     }
   else
     {
@@ -798,6 +818,37 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
 	  self = [self initWithCStringNoCopy: 0 length: 0 freeWhenDone: NO];
 	}
       return self;
+    } 
+  else if (encoding == NSUTF8StringEncoding)
+    {
+      unsigned		length = [data length];
+      const char	*bytes = [data bytes];
+      unsigned		i;
+
+      /*
+       * Check to see if we have in fact got an ascii string
+       */
+      for (i = 0; i < length; i++)
+	{
+	  if (((unsigned char*)bytes)[i] > 127)
+	    {
+	      break;
+	    }
+	}
+      if (i == length)
+	{
+	  self = [self initWithCString: bytes length: length];
+	}
+      else
+	{
+	  unichar	*u;
+
+	  u = NSZoneMalloc(fastZone(self), sizeof(unichar)*length);
+	  length = encode_strtoustr(u, bytes, length+1, NSUTF8StringEncoding);
+	  self = [self initWithCharactersNoCopy: u
+					 length: length
+				   freeWhenDone: YES];
+	}
     }
   else
     {
@@ -1643,7 +1694,7 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
   return (const char*)[d bytes];
 }
 
-- (const char *)UTF8String
+- (const char *) UTF8String
 {
   NSData	*d;
 
@@ -1777,7 +1828,7 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
 
 - (BOOL) canBeConvertedToEncoding: (NSStringEncoding)encoding
 {
-  id d = [self  dataUsingEncoding: encoding allowLossyConversion: NO];
+  id d = [self dataUsingEncoding: encoding allowLossyConversion: NO];
   return d ? YES : NO;
 }
 
@@ -2533,10 +2584,10 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
 		 range: ((NSRange){0, [self length]})];
 }
 
-- (NSComparisonResult)compare:(NSString *)string 
-		      options:(unsigned)mask 
-			range:(NSRange)compareRange 
-		       locale:(NSDictionary *)dict
+- (NSComparisonResult) compare: (NSString *)string 
+		       options: (unsigned)mask 
+			 range: (NSRange)compareRange 
+			locale: (NSDictionary *)dict
 {
   // FIXME: This does only a normal compare
   return [self compare: string
@@ -2544,7 +2595,7 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
 		 range: compareRange];
 }
 
-- (NSComparisonResult)localizedCompare:(NSString *)string
+- (NSComparisonResult) localizedCompare: (NSString *)string
 {
   // FIXME: This does only a normal compare
   return [self compare: string
@@ -2552,7 +2603,7 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
 		 range: ((NSRange){0, [self length]})];
 }
 
-- (NSComparisonResult)localizedCaseInsensitiveCompare:(NSString *)string
+- (NSComparisonResult) localizedCaseInsensitiveCompare: (NSString *)string
 {
   // FIXME: This does only a normal compare
   return [self compare: string
@@ -2569,7 +2620,7 @@ handle_printf_atsign (FILE *stream,
   return [d writeToFile: filename atomically: useAuxiliaryFile];
 }
 
-- (BOOL)writeToURL:(NSURL *)anURL atomically:(BOOL)atomically
+- (BOOL) writeToURL: (NSURL*)anURL atomically: (BOOL)atomically
 {
   id d;
   if (!(d = [self dataUsingEncoding: [NSString defaultCStringEncoding]]))