10.5 Configuring Application Character Set and Collation

For applications that store data using the default MySQL character set and collation ('latin1', 'latin1_swedish_ci'), no special configuration should be needed. If applications require data storage using a different character set or collation, you can configure character set information several ways:

Specify character settings per database. For example, applications that use one database might use the default of 'latin1', whereas applications that use another database might use 'sjis'.
Specify character settings at server startup. This causes the server to use the given settings for all applications that do not make other arrangements.
Specify character settings at configuration time, if you build MySQL from source. This causes the server to use the given settings as the defaults for all applications, without having to specify them at server startup.

When different applications require different character settings, the per-database technique provides a good deal of flexibility. If most or all applications use the same character set, specifying character settings at server startup or configuration time may be most convenient.

For the per-database or server-startup techniques, the settings control the character set for data storage. Applications must also tell the server which character set to use for client/server communications, as described in the following instructions.

The examples shown here assume use of the 'utf8' character set and 'utf8_general_ci' collation in particular contexts as an alternative to the defaults of 'latin1' and 'latin1_swedish_ci'.

Specify character settings per database

To create a database such that its tables use a given default character set and collation for data storage, use a *note 'CREATE DATABASE': create-database. statement like this:
```
  CREATE DATABASE mydb
    CHARACTER SET utf8
    COLLATE utf8_general_ci;
```
Tables created in the database use 'utf8' and 'utf8_general_ci' by default for any character columns.

Applications that use the database should also configure their connection to the server each time they connect. This can be done by executing a 'SET NAMES 'utf8'' statement after connecting. The statement can be used regardless of connection method (the *note 'mysql': mysql. client, PHP scripts, and so forth).

In some cases, it may be possible to configure the connection to use the desired character set some other way. For example, to connect using *note 'mysql': mysql, you can specify the '--default-character-set=utf8' command-line option to achieve the same effect as 'SET NAMES 'utf8''.

For more information about configuring client connections, see *note charset-connection::.

Note:

If you use note 'ALTER DATABASE': alter-database. to change the database default character set or collation, existing stored routines in the database that use those defaults must be dropped and recreated so that they use the new defaults. (In a stored routine, variables with character data types use the database defaults if the character set or collation are not specified explicitly. See note create-procedure::.)
Specify character settings at server startup

To select a character set and collation at server startup, use the '--character-set-server' and '--collation-server' options. For example, to specify the options in an option file, include these lines:
```
  [mysqld]
  character-set-server=utf8
  collation-server=utf8_general_ci
```
These settings apply server-wide and apply as the defaults for databases created by any application, and for tables created in those databases.

It is still necessary for applications to configure their connection using note 'SET NAMES': set-names. or equivalent after they connect, as described previously. You might be tempted to start the server with the '--init_connect="SET NAMES 'utf8'"' option to cause note 'SET NAMES': set-names. to be executed automatically for each client that connects. However, this may yield inconsistent results because the 'init_connect' value is not executed for users who have the 'SUPER' privilege.
Specify character settings at MySQL configuration time

To select a character set and collation if you configure and build MySQL from source, use the 'DEFAULT_CHARSET' and 'DEFAULT_COLLATION' 'CMake' options:
```
  cmake . -DDEFAULT_CHARSET=utf8 \
    -DDEFAULT_COLLATION=utf8_general_ci
```
The resulting server uses 'utf8' and 'utf8_general_ci' as the default for databases and tables and for client connections. It is unnecessary to use '--character-set-server' and '--collation-server' to specify those defaults at server startup. It is also unnecessary for applications to configure their connection using *note 'SET NAMES': set-names. or equivalent after they connect to the server.

Regardless of how you configure the MySQL character set for application use, you must also consider the environment within which those applications execute. For example, if you send statements using UTF-8 text taken from a file that you create in an editor, you should edit the file with the locale of your environment set to UTF-8 so that the file encoding is correct and so that the operating system handles it correctly. If you use the *note 'mysql': mysql. client from within a terminal window, the window must be configured to use UTF-8 or characters may not display properly. For a script that executes in a Web environment, the script must handle character encoding properly for its interaction with the MySQL server, and it must generate pages that correctly indicate the encoding so that browsers know how to display the content of the pages. For example, you can include this '' tag within your '

' element:

 <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />

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