Re: what characterset to use?

On Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:55:54 -0700, Ben <balvey_at_comcast.net> wrote:

>10.2.0.2 Ent Ed, AIX5L
>
>We are planning a new database and I'm having a little confusion on
>what character set to use. We are not sure if in the future we may
>need some double byte characters. For the most part we can suffice
>with AMERICAN_AMERICA.WE8MSWIN1252 but it is possible that in the
>future we need multibyte characters. I have been reading the
>Globalization guide and the section in Tom Kyte's Expert Oracle
>Database Architecture on this but I could be totally mis interrepting
>something here. I haven't read chapter 6 on unicode in the
>Globalization Guide (yet). I don't want to use multibyte data unless
>it is necessary but I do want to have the option available.
>
>1. Am I correct in thinking that if we use NLS_CHARACTERSET =
>WE8MSWIN1252 and NLS_NCHAR_CHARACTERSET = AL16UTF16 we shouldn't have
>any issues with losing multibyte characters?
>

The basic guideline is you use a characterset which is native to the database server. As your database is on AIX5L, this is WE8ISO8859P15, NOT mswin1252. Oracle however is moving towards UTF, and I believe I did read a note ALL 11g databases are going to be UTF by default.

>2. On my windows client I go to a command prompt and issue the
>following c:\> echo %NLS_LANG%,
>I get %NLS_LANG% returned back to me. I'm assuming that this means I
>don't have the variable set. How does my client then treat the data
>that I am getting from the database?

The Oracle default for all O/S es is still US7ASCII. However, if you did install your client properly, you will have a *registry* string NLS_LANG set to MSWIN1252. This will work.
>
>3. When I query v$nls_parameters does this show me what character set
>my client session is using?

It should but better query v$nls_session_parameters. V$ views have documented descriptions BTW: in the database (use DIC) in the documentation, and on Metalink.
>
>4. When I query nls_database_parameters, does this show me what the
>database has been setup as on the server side?
>

see answer 3
>5. Within sqlplus what does 'show parameter nls' tell me? I'm assuming
>the init.ora nls settings.

Exactly, you 'assume'.
Your assumption is incorrect.
It will show you the result from v$parameter. If you started your database using a spfile (which you should do anyway), the parameters from the spfile will show.

-- 
Sybrand Bakker
Senior Oracle DBA