2 Oracle GoldenGate Globalization Support

This chapter describes Oracle GoldenGate globalization support, which enables the processing of data in its native language encoding.

Topics:

• Preserving the Character Set
  
• Using Unicode and Native Characters
  

2.1 Preserving the Character Set

In order to process the data in its native language encoding, Oracle GoldenGate takes into consideration the character set of the database and the operating system locale, if applicable.

• Character Set of Database Structural Metadata
  
• Character Set of Character-type Data
  
• Character Set of Database Connection
  
• Character Set of Text Input and Output
  

2.1.1 Character Set of Database Structural Metadata

Oracle GoldenGate processes catalog, schema, table and column names in their native language as determined by the character set encoding of the source and target databases. This processing is extended to the parameter files and command interpreter, where they are processed according to the operating system locale. These objects appear in their localized format throughout the client interface, on the console, and in files.

2.1.2 Character Set of Character-type Data

The Oracle GoldenGate apply process (Replicat) supports the conversion of data from one character set to another when the data is contained in character column types. Character-set conversion support is limited to column-to-column mapping as performed with the COLMAP or USEDEFAULTS clauses of a TABLE or MAP statement. It is not supported by the column-conversion functions, by SQLEXEC, or by the TOKENS feature.

See Mapping and Manipulating Data for more information about character sets, conversion between them, and data mapping.

2.1.3 Character Set of Database Connection

The Extract and Replicat processes use a session character set when connecting to the database. For Oracle Databases, the session character set is set to the same as the database character set by both Extract and Replicat. For MySQL, the session character set is taken from the SESSIONCHARSET option of SOURCEDB and TARGETDB, or from the SESSIONCHARSET parameter set globally in the GLOBALS file. For other database types, it is obtained programmatically. In addition, Oracle GoldenGate processes use a session character set for communication and data transfer between Oracle GoldenGate and the database, such as for SQL queries, fetches, and applying data.

2.1.4 Character Set of Text Input and Output

Oracle GoldenGate supports text input and output in the default character set of the host operating system for the following:

• Console

• Command-line input and output

• FORMATASCII, FORMATSQL, FORMATXML parameters, text files such as parameter files, data-definitions files, error log, process reports, discard files, and other human-readable files that are used by Oracle GoldenGate users to configure, run, and monitor the Oracle GoldenGate environment.

In the event that the platform does not support a required character set as the default in the operating system, you can use the following parameters to specify a character set:

• CHARSET parameter to specify a character set to be used by processes to read their parameter files.

• CHARSET option of the DEFSFILE parameter to generate a data-definitions file in a specific character set.

The GGSCI command console always operates in the character set of the local operating system for both keyboard and OBEY file input and console output.

2.2 Using Unicode and Native Characters

Oracle GoldenGate supports the use of an escape sequence to represent characters in Unicode or in the native character encoding of the Windows, UNIX, and Linux operating systems. You can use an escape sequence if the operating system does not support the required character, or for any other purpose when needed. For more information about this support, see Support for Escape Sequences.