I think the FAQ needs to be updated, assuming this is the official one

https://www.firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/drivers_documentation/java/
faq.html

While this covers the connection character set information. It still seems a
big vague and has several ways to go about this.

https://www.firebirdsql.org/file/documentation/drivers_documentation/java/
faq.html#how-can-i-solve-the-error-connection-rejected-no-connection-
character-set-specified

I never tried the encoding. Not sure it should even be mentioned. Even if an
option that works to many can cause confusion. Likely need to stick to
lc_ctype (firebird)
charSet (java)

I think that is simplest. Just leave out encoding and localEncoding. The
comments in this post I think provide clear explanation and usage of lc_ctype
and charSet. Could just add that stuff to FAQ as is.
https://beta.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Firebird-Java/conversations/messages/
11292

--
William L. Thomson Jr.