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@@ -1,4 +1,40 @@
 Simple SAX parser library with added UCS2 support.
 
+When we build expat internally ("bundled"), we build two variants: One
+that has an "ASCII" (actually UTF-8) API, another that has a "Unicode"
+(meaning UTF-16) API. Additionally, expat is split into two parts,
+expat_xmlparse and expat_xmltok. It's the former which has the two
+variabts, ascii_expat_xmlparse (UTF-8) and expat_xmlparse (UTF-16).
+
+Code that uses expat then declares in its .mk file which one it wants
+to use. See the magic in ../RepositoryExternal.mk, where in the
+expat_utf16 case -DXML_UNICODE is passed when compiling source code
+that wants to use the UTF-16 variant.
+
+Now, this sounds fairly clear so far.
+
+But wait. LO can also be conigured to use a *system* expat
+library. The System expat library is only available as one variant,
+the "ASCII" one. (But the library is still called just "libexpat", no
+"ascii" in the name, that is just LO/OO's convention.) So how does
+this work then, how can the code that wants to use the UTF-16 expat
+API then actually use the "ASCII" (UTF-8) expat API? Well, in the
+SYSTEM_EXPAT case no -DXML_UNICODE is used, so the code needs to check
+that and adapt. So in the system libexpat case, mentioning expat_utf16
+in a .mk file doesn't mean any UTF-16-using libexpat would actually be
+used.
+
+Yeah, this is silly, confusing, etc.
+
+Furthermore, at least Debian actually *does* have also a "Unicode"
+expat library, called libexpatw. Debian's LO does not use that,
+though. (Using it would require modifications to the LO build
+machinery.)
+
+Now, if LO manages just fine with just the UTF-8 (or, "ASCII") system
+libexpat in builds where that is used, why is a separate Unicode one
+needed when an internal expat is used? Good question. Next
+question. Patches welcome.
+
 From:
 [http://expat.sourceforge.net/]