Choosing a Database Character Set

TimesTen uses the database character set to define the encoding of data stored in character data types, such as CHAR and VARCHAR2.

Use the DatabaseCharacterSet data store attribute to specify the database character set during database creation. You cannot alter the database character set after database creation, and there is no default value for DatabaseCharacterSet. See DatabaseCharacterSet for a list of supported character sets.

Consider the following questions when you choose a character set for a database:

• What languages does the database need to support now and in the future?

• Is the character set available on the operating system?

• What character sets are used on clients?

• How well does the application handle the character set?

• What are the performance implications of the character set?

If you are caching Oracle database tables, or if you loading Oracle database data into a TimesTen table, you must create the database with the same database character set as the Oracle database.

This section includes the following topics:

• Character Sets and Languages

• Client Operating System and Application Compatibility

• Performance and Storage Implications

• Character Sets and Replication