MySQL Reference Manual for version 4.0.18.

[ < ] [ > ]   [ << ] [ Up ] [ >> ]         [Top] [Contents] [Index] [ ? ]

16.3.1 Server Character Set and Collation

The MySQL Server has a server character set and a server collation, which may not be null.

MySQL determines the server character set and server collation thus:

At this level, the decision is simple. The server character set and collation depend on the options that you use when you start mysqld. You can use --default-character-set=character_set_name for the character set, and along with it you can add --default-collation=collation_name for the collation. If you don't specify a character set, that is the same as saying --default-character-set=latin1. If you specify only a character set (for instance, latin1) but not a collation, that is the same as saying --default-charset=latin1 --collation=latin1_swedish_ci because latin1_swedish_ci is the default collation for latin1. Therefore the following three commands all have the same effect:

 
shell> mysqld
shell> mysqld --default-character-set=latin1
shell> mysqld --default-character-set=latin1
           --default-collation=latin1_swedish_ci

One way to change the settings is by recompiling. If you want to change the default server character set and collation when building from sources, use: --with-character-set and --with-collation as arguments for configure. For example:

 
shell> ./configure --with-character-set=latin1

or:

 
shell> ./configure --with-character-set=latin1
           --with-collation=latin1_german1_ci

Both mysqld and configure check that the character set/collation combination is valid. Each program displays an error message and terminates if the combination is not valid.



This document was generated by rdg (Feb 25 2004) using texi2html