

The collation must point to a code page supported by the underlying operating system however, multiple collations can point to the same code page if they share the same character set. Each collation that supports non-Unicode data is associated with a code page that defines the bit patterns for the non-Unicode characters. Most collations support both Unicode and non-Unicode character data, although some support only Unicode data. For Unicode types, the character bit patterns conform to international standards that define a double-byte encoding scheme for mapping most of the world’s written languages, ensuring that the same bit pattern is always associated with the same character, regardless of the underlying environment. In SQL Server, you can configure a character column with a Unicode data type ( nchar, nvarchar, or ntext) or non-Unicode data type ( char, varchar, or text). On the other hand, many Asian languages include thousands of characters and require a double-byte character set, which supports up to 65,536 bit patterns.Ĭollations are intricately tied to the data types assigned to character columns. For example, European languages require only a single-byte character set, which supports up to 256 bit patterns. SQL Server stores character data using either one byte or two bytes per character, depending on the column’s data type and assigned collation. The first is to provide a character set that defines the bit pattern associated with each character.

SQL Server includes a large set of collations for handling the language and regional differences that come with supporting users and applications in different parts of the world.Įach collation serves two purposes. How do collations affect temporary tables?Ī collation is a configuration setting that determines how the database engine should treat character data at the server, database, or column level.How do I create a foreign key on columns with different collations?.How do I query columns with different collations?.How do I specify a collation when querying data?.How do I assign a collation to a column?.How do I configure a database’s default collation?.How do I set the collation at the server level?.
SQL SERVER COLLATE WINDOWS
What are the differences between Windows collations and SQL Server collations?.How do I identify Unicode-only collations?.How do I find the collations supported on a SQL Server instance?.
