> Too bad the JDBC designers did not add methods to go along with
> setString, getString, etc that take a character encoding argument.

I see no need for it. Driver should be intelligent enough to handle this.

> I agree with removing the encoding. If for no other reason than it
> makes #setBytes symetrical with #getBytes. Currently, when you write
> the MD5 with CHARACTER SET OCTETS, the bytes will go in as one value
> and come out as another. For example, try something like this:
> ...
> Odd, it finds the correct record, but the data retrieved is
> different than what was put in and searched for!

It encodes parameter, sends it to server, gets the reply and forgets
to decode it. This is a bug.

Roman