Understanding Character Set Selection
When configuring your PeopleSoft system, you need to consider the character set (or sets) that will be in use on the following tiers:
-
Client.
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Web server.
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Application server.
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Database server.
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File attachment storage location (FTP site, HTTP repository, or database table).
-
Email.
Some operations of your PeopleSoft system require the interaction of multiple tiers. For example, the uploading of a file attachment involves the browser on the client, the web server, the application server, the database server, and ultimately the file attachment storage location. To ensure the correct transfer of data and files between these tiers, Oracle recommends configuring each server tier (web server, application server, database server, and file storage location) to use the same character set as follows:
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If your PeopleSoft system operates in a multi-language environment, use a UTF-8 character set on each server tier.
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If your PeopleSoft system operates in a single language environment, use the native language character set for that language on each server tier. Alternatively, you could use a UTF-8 character set on each server tier, which would provide more flexibility than using the native language character set.
Clients can always be configured to use the native language of the user of that workstation or browser.
The following table depicts example character set settings across all tiers for three typical configurations—a multi-language environment, a single language environment (Western), and a single language environment (non-Western).
Note:
This table shows examples for a particular combination of languages and platforms; your specific configuration could differ.
| Tier (Platform) | Multi-Language | Single Language(Western: French) | Single Language(Non-Western: Japanese) | Where to Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Client (Windows) |
Any (for example, English uses CP1252). |
French (uses CP1252). |
Japanese (uses CP932). |
Start, Settings, Control Panel, Regional Options |
|
Web server (Linux) – Shell processes |
en_US.utf8 |
fr_FR.iso88915 |
ja_JP.sjis |
locale command |
|
Application server (Linux) – PSAPPSRV processes |
utf-8 |
latin15 |
sjis |
psappsrv.cfg [PSTOOLS] Character Set |
|
Application server (Linux) – Email processes |
utf-8 |
utf-8 |
utf-8 |
psappsrv.cfg [SMTP Settings] SMTP Character Set |
|
Application server (Linux) – Shell processes |
en_US.utf8 |
fr_FR.iso88915 |
ja_JP.sjis |
locale command |
|
Database server (Oracle) |
AL32UTF8 |
WE8ISO885915 |
JS16SJISTILDE |
NLS_DATABASE_PARAMETERS |
|
File attachments: FTP site4 (Linux) – Shell processes |
en_US.utf8 |
fr_FR.iso88915 |
ja_JP.sjis |
locale command |
4 For file attachments, if the storage location is a database table or an HTTP repository, then the configuration of one of the other server tiers will also configure the character set in use for a file attachment storage location on that tier. Specifically, a database table as a storage location depends on the settings for the database server; an HTTP file repository as a storage location depends on the web server settings if the HTTP repository is deployed on the web server. In the preceding table, information is provided for an FTP site as a storage location only because an FTP site can be deployed independently from the other server tiers.
Failure to configure character sets correctly across server tiers can result in garbled file names. To minimize character corruption issues, try to use the multi-language settings where possible.