In MySQL, which collation should I choose?

mysql collation
bbtang picture bbtang · Aug 5, 2009 · Viewed 41.6k times · Source

When I create a new MySQL database through phpMyAdmin, I have the option to choose the collation (e.g.-default, armscii8, ascii, ... and UTF-8). The one I know is UTF-8, since I always see this in HTML source code. But what is the default collation? What are the differences between these choices, and which one should I use?

Answer

ZZ Coder picture ZZ Coder · Aug 5, 2009

Collation tells database how to perform string matching and sorting. It should match your charset.

If you use UTF-8, the collation should be utf8_general_ci. This will sort in Unicode order (case-insensitive) and it works for most languages. It also preserves ASCII and Latin1 order.

The default collation is normally latin1.

Related questions

How do I see what character set a MySQL database / table / column is?

What is the (default) charset for: MySQL database MySQL table MySQL column

Read More
What is the best collation to use for MySQL with PHP?

I'm wondering if there is a "best" choice for collation in MySQL for a general website where you aren't 100% sure of what will be entered? I understand that all the encodings should be the same, such as MySQL, Apache, the …

Read More
What's the difference between utf8_general_ci and utf8_unicode_ci?

Between utf8_general_ci and utf8_unicode_ci, are there any differences in terms of performance?

Read More