return buf.toString();
        } catch (final UnsupportedEncodingException e) {
            return path;
        }
    }

    /**
     * Normalizes a configuration path.
     *
     * @param path The path to normalize.
     * @return The normalized path.
     */
    public String normalizeConfigPath(final String path) {

        if (StringUtil.isBlank(path)) {
            return StringUtils.EMPTY;

        return ComponentUtil.getSearchEngineClient()
                .deleteByQuery(ComponentUtil.getFessConfig().getIndexDocumentUpdateIndex(), queryContext.getQueryBuilder());
    }

    /**
     * Extracts and normalizes language preferences from request parameters or browser locale.
     *
     * This method prioritizes explicit language parameters over browser locale settings
     * and handles special cases like "all languages" selection.