code: public static String decodeString(Codec codec, String s)
      throws Codec.CannotDecodeException
    {
      try
      {
        return new String(codec.decode(s), "UTF-8");
      }
      catch(UnsupportedEncodingException ex)
      {
        // shouldn't happen
        throw new RuntimeException(ex);
      }
    }
docs: Decodes the string using the codec provided. Returns a string
  
  @param codec encode the string
  @param s the string to encode
  @return the encoded string
  @throws Codec.CannotDecodeException if cannot decode the string