Sybase 12.4.2 Understanding character sets in software, Pieces in the character set puzzle, 317

CHAPTER 9 International Languages and Character Sets

To answer the question...	Consider reading...
How are characters represented in	“Understanding character sets in
software, and Adaptive Server IQ in	software” on page 317
particular?
What collations does Adaptive Server	“Supplied collations” on page 329
IQ provide?
How do I ensure that error and	“Character translation for database
informational messages sent from the	messages” on page 336
database server to client applications
are sent in the proper language and
character set for my application?
I have a different character set on client	“Starting a database server using
machines from that in use in the	character set translation” on page
database. How can I get characters to be	348
exchanged properly between client and
server?
What character sets can I use for	“Connection strings and character
connection strings?	sets” on page 338
How do I create a collation that is	“Creating a database with a custom
different from the supplied ones?	collation” on page 351

Understanding character sets in software

This section provides general information about software issues related to international languages and character sets.

Pieces in the character set puzzle

There are several distinct aspects to character storage and display by computer software:

•Each piece of software works with a character set. A character set is a set of symbols, including letters, digits, spaces and other symbols.

•To handle these characters, each piece of software employs a character set encoding, in which each character is mapped onto one or more bytes of information, typically represented as hexadecimal numbers. This encoding is also called a code page.

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