1 files changed, 14 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/coverage/misc.py b/coverage/misc.py
index 36e4fe9..db6298b 100644
--- a/coverage/misc.py
+++ b/coverage/misc.py
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@
 import errno
 import hashlib
 import inspect
+import locale
 import os
+import sys
 import types
 
 from coverage import env
@@ -149,6 +151,18 @@ def file_be_gone(path):
             raise
 
 
+def output_encoding(outfile=None):
+    """Determine the encoding to use for output written to `outfile` or stdout."""
+    if outfile is None:
+        outfile = sys.stdout
+    encoding = (
+        getattr(outfile, "encoding", None) or
+        getattr(sys.__stdout__, "encoding", None) or
+        locale.getpreferredencoding()
+    )
+    return encoding
+
+
 class Hasher(object):
     """Hashes Python data into md5."""
     def __init__(self):