What character set should I choose when creating a new database in mysql?

For new MySQL databases, the best character set selection is: for data that requires a wide character range and internationalization support, select UTF-8mb4, which supports all Unicode characters and provides higher storage efficiency; for data that requires only a wide character range and internationalization support, In scenarios where English and Western European language data need to be stored and storage efficiency is emphasized, choose UTF8.

MySQL New Database: Choose the Best Character Set

When creating a new database in MySQL, choose the correct Character sets are critical to ensure correctness and consistency in data storage and retrieval.

Best Character Set Selection

For most use cases, it is recommended to choose a Unicode-compatible character set because it provides the widest character range and support. The following two character sets are common choices:

• UTF-8mb4: Unicode Transformation Format 8-bit, supports up to 4 bytes of characters, suitable for storing all character sets text data.
• UTF8: A shorter version of UTF-8 that supports up to 3 bytes of characters and is suitable for storing text data in English and Western European languages.

Reasons for choosing UTF-8mb4

UTF-8mb4 provides more advantages than UTF8:

• Supports all Unicode Characters, including emoticons and special characters, suitable for internationalized applications.
• Compatible with older versions of UTF8, ensuring smooth migration of existing data.
• Provides greater storage efficiency because most characters can be represented using 1 or 2 bytes.

Reasons for choosing UTF8

In the following situations, you can choose UTF8:

• Only stores English and Western European languages text data.
• Needs higher storage efficiency and does not need to support all Unicode characters.
• Needs compatibility with older UTF8.

Other considerations

In addition to the character set, the following factors also need to be considered:

• Table-level characters Set: You can set a character set different from the database character set for each table to support storing data in different languages.
• Character set conversion: If you need to convert data between different character sets, you can use the CONVERT() function.
• Client Character Set: Client applications must also support the selected character set to ensure correct data display and entry.

Conclusion

Depending on the use case and the type of data being stored, UTF-8mb4 and UTF8 are the best character set choices for new MySQL databases. By choosing the correct character set, you can ensure data integrity, consistency, and smooth operation of your internationalized applications.

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