Helen,

sorry for this, but what do you mean by 'introducer syntax or CAST'.
Is this the _UNICODE_FSS syntax you mention above in SQL, or you mean
some casting inside the application code?

Thanks,

Kiril.

--- In firebird-support@yahoogroups.com, Helen Borrie <helebor@t...>
wrote:

> At 12:49 PM 10/02/2005 +0000, you wrote:
>
> >Helen Borrie wrote:
> >
> > >At 02:19 AM 10/02/2005 +0000, you wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >>But what encoding form does UNICODE_FSS use, or rather what

encoding

> > >>should I pass to DSQL API functions, UTF-8? That can take up to

6 bytes!

> > >>
> > >>
> > >
> > >Don't pass unicode at all. Pass characters - whatever the

user's keyboard

> > >mapping throws at the client. The client's lc_ctype setting

will take care

> > >of the UNICODE_FSS conversion if it and the database are set up

for it. If

> > >not, i.e. the database column is fss_unicode but the client and

database

> > >are not, you face extra work (introducers or casting) to pass

the locale

> > >strings in such a way that the engine is able to do that bridge

work.

> > >
> > >
> >
> >So if I specify lc_ctype as "UTF-8" I'm safe? (assuming I want to

pass

> >UTF-8 form data of course)
>
> No!! the lc_ctype should always match the default character set of

the

> database. Its purpose is to interpret the incoming characters for

the

> database. The only valid entries for lc_ctype are character set

names (or

> aliases) that the database knows about. In turn, the database will

only

> know about character sets that were known to the server when the

database

> was created.
>
> So, if you choose to set the default character set to be NONE, you

must use

> introducer syntax or CAST with any input you need to store in a

FSS_UNICODE

> column in order to reproduce the bridging work that the client's

lc_ctype

> does in concert with a database whose default charset matches that
> lc_ctype. This also applies to any search conditions on those
> columns. (I'm getting frustrated here, trying to find a way to SAY
> this! If you STILL think it means that lc_ctype can be any old

thin you

> chooseg, then I'm not getting through...)
>
> You don't have to tell the client what it is getting from the UI.

It knows

> that. You only have to tell it what to store or search for, and

only if it

> is storing or searching columns that are not in the default

character set.

>
> As for 6-byte characters, you *will* have problems with them if

UNICODE_FSS

> can't map them to a 3-byte word it recognises. Which particular 6-

byte

> codes did you have in mind?
>
> ./hb