Unicode and Encoding Checklist
When preparing to work with Unicode and other encoded data, there are several requirements to consider before you begin:
• Database configuration: Your server, client, and database must be configured to use the correct character set.
• The field data types must support Unicode or your encoding type.
• Determine the encoding of your data files or tables. For instance, is the encoding UTF-8, ASCII, or UTF-16?.
• Install drivers that support the data encoding type.
• Keep in mind that the integration platform supports the Unicode 4.0 standard.
• Install the following items that are required for your data format:
– Language sets
– Character sets
For more information on installing these required items, see the sections below.
Note: In order to work with components in the Process window, you must choose a regional language setting.
Installing Language Sets
You can keep your operating system default language setting in the Windows Regional and Language Options set to your native language. The transfer of data and the viewing of Unicode data characters is not affected by this setting.
Regardless of your default language setting, to view certain characters correctly (East Asian languages, for example), you must have those language sets installed.
Installing Character Sets
Character sets primarily affect your file format and how data is stored and transmitted, as well as string processing. Character sets do not resolve formatting issues, special input requirements, or display issues.
If you do not have the appropriate character sets installed on the client you are using to run the integration platform, you may see incorrect results when using OEM encoding.
In addition, you must have the appropriate Unicode character sets installed to set the encoding to UTF-8, UTF-16, and so on.