What does 'COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS' do?

Question

I have an SQL query to create the database in SQLServer as given below:

create database yourdb
on
( name = 'yourdb_dat',
  filename = 'c:\program files\microsoft sql server\mssql.1\mssql\data\yourdbdat.mdf',
  size = 25mb,
  maxsize = 1500mb,
  filegrowth = 10mb )
log on
( name = 'yourdb_log',
  filename = 'c:\program files\microsoft sql server\mssql.1\mssql\data\yourdblog.ldf',
  size = 7mb,
  maxsize = 375mb,
  filegrowth = 10mb )
COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS;
go

It runs fine.

While rest of the SQL is clear to be I am quite confused about the functionality of COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS.

Can anyone explain this to me? Also, I would like to know if creating the database in this way is a best practice?

Answer 1

It sets how the database server sorts (compares pieces of text). in this case:

SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS

breaks up into interesting parts:

1. latin1 makes the server treat strings using charset latin 1, basically ascii
2. CP1 stands for Code Page 1252
3. CI case insensitive comparisons so 'ABC' would equal 'abc'
4. AS accent sensitive, so 'ü' does not equal 'u'

P.S. For more detailed information be sure to read @solomon-rutzky's answer.