What role does the `errors` parameter play in `str.encode()` when encountering this error, and what are its common values?

The `errors` parameter in the `str.encode(encoding, errors)` method dictates how characters that cannot be encoded by the specified `encoding` should be handled. By default, `errors='strict'`, which raises a `UnicodeEncodeError`. Other common values include: - `'ignore'`: Skips the unencodable characters. - `'replace'`: Replaces unencodable characters with a '?' or a similar placeholder. - `'xmlcharrefreplace'`: Replaces unencodable characters with XML character references (e.g., `{`). - `'backslashreplace'`: Replaces unencodable characters with Python-style backslash escapes (e.g., `\u00ab`). Using a suitable `errors` strategy can prevent the program from crashing, though it might lead to data loss or alteration.