A character set is a set of rules for representing and storing letters, numbers, symbols, and characters from different languages in a database. Choosing one early helps keep stored data accurate and compatible. section 4.5
English, Chinese, and product data
English uses Latin letters, while Chinese uses different characters. A Latin-based character set such as Latin1 may suit limited language needs; UTF-8 supports internationalized and multilingual content. In a product database, this choice affects text such as names, manufacturers, descriptions, and photo URLs. section 4.5 section 4.5
Use these practical rules when designing a database:
- Choose the character set when creating the database, before tables and columns accumulate data. section 4.5
- Match the character set to the languages and symbols the database must store. section 4.5
- Treat a later change as potentially difficult because some relational database systems may not allow it. section 4.5
