MySQL 5.6 C API Developer Guide
int mysql_set_character_set(MYSQL *mysql, const char *csname)
This function is used to set the default character set for the
current connection. The string csname
specifies a valid character set name. The connection collation
becomes the default collation of the character set. This
function works like the SET
NAMES
statement, but also sets the value of
mysql->charset
, and thus affects the
character set used by
mysql_real_escape_string()
MYSQL mysql;
mysql_init(&mysql);
if (!mysql_real_connect(&mysql,"host","user","passwd
","database",0,NULL,0))
{
fprintf(stderr, "Failed to connect to database: Error: %s\n",
mysql_error(&mysql));
}
if (!mysql_set_character_set(&mysql, "utf8"))
{
printf("New client character set: %s\n",
mysql_character_set_name(&mysql));
}