I have an issue. I have data stored on SQL server with central european characters like "č", "ř", "ž" etc. On the database I have the "Czech_CI_AS" collation which should accepted these characters. But when I try to select for example name of the street with this characters like this:
SELECT *
FROM Street where Name = 'Čáslavská'
It returns me nothing
When I remove the "č" it returns me what I need.
SELECT *
FROM Street where Name like '%áslavská'
I have this column in nvarchar type. But I cannot use the N character before my string because the external applications use this table for read and selects are made automaticlly.
Is here any solution? Or have I got something wrong?
Thanks for any help
#YuriyTsarkov really deservers the credit here. To elaborate on his answer.
From MSDN:
Prefix Unicode character string constants with the letter N. Without the N prefix, the string is converted to the default code page of the database. This default code page may not recognize certain characters.
Example
-- Storing Čáslavská in two vars, with and without N prefix.
DECLARE #Test_001 NVARCHAR(255) = 'Čáslavská' COLLATE Czech_CI_AS;
DECLARE #Test_002 NVARCHAR(255) = N'Čáslavská' COLLATE Czech_CI_AS;
-- Test output.
SELECT
#Test_001 AS T1,
#Test_002 AS T2
;
Returns
T1 T2
Cáslavská Čáslavská
You need to update all your external applications code to use selects with N, or, you need to change collation of your column to same, as used by external applications. It may cause some data loss.
Related
What I need is to ensure that a string gets encoded in a known character encoding. So far, my research and testing with MS SQL Server has revealed that the documented encoding is 'UCS-2', however the actual encoding (on the server in question) is 'UCS-2LE'.
Which doesn't seem very reliable. What I would love is an ENCODE function as found in PERL, Node, or most anything, so that regardless of upgrades or settings changes, my hash function will be working on known input.
We can limit the hashing string to HEX, so at worst, we could manually map the 16 possible input characters to the proper bytes. Anyone have a recommendation on this?
Here's the PERL I'm using:
use Digest::SHA qw/sha256/;
use Encode qw/encode/;
$seed = 'DDFF5D36-F14D-495D-BAA6-3688786D6CFA';
$string = '123456789';
$target = '57392CD6A5192B6185C5999EB23D240BB7CEFD26E377D904F6FEF262ED176F97';
$encoded = encode('UCS-2LE', $seed.$string);
$sha256 = uc(unpack("H*", sha256($encoded)));
print "$target\n$sha256\n";
Which matches MS SQL:
HASHBYTES('SHA_256', 'DDFF5D36-F14D-495D-BAA6-3688786D6CFA123456789')
But what I really want is:
HASHBYTES('SHA_256', ENCODE('UCS2-LE', 'DDFF5D36-F14D-495D-BAA6-3688786D6CFA123456789'))
So that no matter what MS SQL happens to be encoding the input string as, the HASHBYTES will always operate on a known byte array.
SQL Server uses UCS-2 only on columns, variables and literals that were declared as nvarchar. In all other cases it uses 8-bit ASCII with the encoding of the current database, unless specified otherwise (using the collate clause, for example).
So, you either have to specify a Unicode literal:
select HASHBYTES('SHA_256', N'DDFF5D36-F14D-495D-BAA6-3688786D6CFA123456789');
Or, you can use a variable or table column of the nvarchar data type:
-- Variable
declare #var nvarchar(128) = N'DDFF5D36-F14D-495D-BAA6-3688786D6CFA123456789';
select HASHBYTES('SHA_256', #var);
-- Table column
declare #t table(
Value nvarchar(128)
);
insert into #t
select #var;
select HASHBYTES('SHA_256', t.Value)
from #t t;
P.S. Of course, since Wintel is a little-endian platform, SQL Server uses the same version of the encoding as the OS / hardware. Unless something new will come out in SQL Server 2017, there is no way to get big-endian representation in this universe natively.
I got a little surprised as I was able to store an Ukrainian string in a varchar column .
My table is:
create table delete_collation
(
text1 varchar(100) collate SQL_Ukrainian_CP1251_CI_AS
)
and using this query I am able to insert:
insert into delete_collation
values(N'використовується для вирішення квитки')
but when I am removing 'N' it is showing ?????? in the select statement.
Is it okay or am I missing something in understanding unicode and non-unicode with collate?
From MSDN:
Prefix Unicode character string constants with the letter N. Without
the N prefix, the string is converted to the default code page of the
database. This default code page may not recognize certain characters.
UPDATE:
Please see a similar questions::
What is the meaning of the prefix N in T-SQL statements?
Cyrillic symbols in SQL code are not correctly after insert
sql server 2012 express do not understand Russian letters
To expand on MegaTron's answer:
Using collate SQL_Ukrainian_CP1251_CI_AS, SQL server is able to store ukrainian characters in a varchar column by using CodePage 1251.
However, when you specify a string without the N prefix, that string will be converted to the default non-unicode codepage before it is sent to the database, and that is why you see ??????.
So it is completely fine to use varchar and collate as you do, but you must always include the N prefix when sending strings to the database, to avoid the intermediate conversion to default (non-ukrainian) codepage.
Note: I'm running under SQL Server 2008 R2...
I've taken the time to read dozens of posts on this site and other sites on how to execute dynamic SQL where the query is more than 4000 characters. I've tried more than a dozen solutions proposed. The consensus seems to be to split the query into 4000-character variables and then do:
EXEC (#SQLQuery1 + #SQLQuery2)
This doesn't work for me - the query is truncated at the end of #SQLQuery1.
Now, I've seen samples how people "force" a long query by using REPLICATE a bunch of spaces, etc., but this is a real query - but it gets a little more sophisticated than that.
I have SQL View with a name of "Company_A_ItemView".
I have 10 companies that I want to create the same exact view, with different names, e.g.
"Company_B_ItemView"
"Company_C_ItemView"
..etc.
If you offer help, please don't ask why there are multiple views - just accept that I need to do it this way, OK?
Each company has its own set of tables, and the CREATE VIEW statement references several tables by name. Here's BRIEF sample, but remember, the total length of the query is around 6000 characters:
CREATE view [dbo].[Company_A_ItemView] as
select
WE.[Item No_],
WE.[Location Code],
LOC.[Bin Number],
[..more fields, etc.]
from
[Company_A_Warehouse_Entry] WE
left join
[Company_A_Location] LOC
...you get the idea
So, what I am currently doing is:
a. Pulling the contents of the CREATE VIEW statement into 2 Declared Variables, e.g.
Set #SQLQuery1 = (select text
from syscomments
where ID = 1382894081 and colid = 1)
Set #SQLQuery2 = (select
from syscomments
where ID = 1382894081 and colid = 2)
Note that this is how SQL stores long definitions - when you create the view, it stores the text into multiple syscomments records. In my case, the view is split into a text chunk of 3591 characters into the first syscomment record and the rest of the text is in the second record. I have no idea why SQL doesn't use all 4000 characters in the syscomment field. And the statement is broken in the middle of a word.
Please note in all my examples, all #SQLQueryxxx variables are declared as varchar(max). I've also tried declaring them as nvarchar(max) and varchar(8000) and nvarchar(8000) with the same results.
b. I then do a "Search and Replace" for "Company_A" and replace it with "Company_B". In the code below, the variable "#CompanyID" is first set to "Company_B":
SET #SQLQueryNew1 = #SQLQuery1
SET #SQLQueryNew1 = REPLACE(#SQLQueryNew1, 'Company_A', #CompanyID)
SET #SQLQueryNew2 = #SQLQuery2
SET #SQLQueryNew2 = REPLACE(#SQLQueryNew2, 'Company_A',#CompanyID)
c. I then try:
EXEC (#SQLQueryNew1 + #SQLQueryNew2)
The message returned indicates that it's trying to execute the statement truncated at the end of #SQLQueryNew1, e.g. 80% (approx) of the query's text.
I've tried CAST'ing the final result into a new varchar(max) and nvarchar(max) - no luck
I've tried CAST'ing the original query a new varchar(max) and nvarchar(max)- no luck
I've looked at the result of retrieving the original CREATE VIEW statement, and it's fine.
I've tried various other ways of retrieving the original CREATE VIEW statement, such as:
Set #SQLQuery1 = (select VIEW_DEFINITION)
FROM [MY_DATABASE].[INFORMATION_SCHEMA].[VIEWS]
where TABLE_NAME = 'Company_A_ItemView')`
This one returns only the first 4000 characters of the CREATE VIEW
Set #SQLQuery1 = (SELECT (OBJECT_DEFINITION(#ObjectID))
If I do a
SELECT LEN(OBJECT_DEFINITION(#ObjectID))
it returns the correct length of the query (e.g. 5191), but if I look at #SQLQuery1, or try to
EXEC(#SQLQuery1), the statement is still truncated.
c. There are some references that state that since I'm manipulating the text of the query after retrieving it, the resulting variables are then truncated to 4000 characters. I've tried CAST'ing the result as I do the REPLACE, e.g.
SET #SQLQueryNew1 = SELECT (CAST(REPLACE(#SQLQueryNew1,
'Company_A',
#CompanyID) AS varchar(max))
Same result.
I know there are other methods, such as creating stored procedures for creating the views. But the views are being developed and are somewhat "in flux", so placing the text of the CREATE VIEW inside a stored proc is cumbersome. My goal is to be able to take Company_A's view and replicate it exactly - multiple times, except reference Company_B's view name and table names, Company_C's view name and table names, etc.
I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who has done this type of manipulation of a long SQL "CREATE VIEW" statement and try to execute it.
Just use VARCHAR(MAX) or NVARCHAR(MAX). They work fine for EXEC(string).
FYI,
Note that this is how SQL stores long definitions - when you create
the view, it stores the text into multiple syscomments records.
This is not correct. This is how it used to be done on SQL Server 2000. Since SQL Server 2005 and higher they are saved as NVARCHAR(MAX) in a single entry in sys.sql_modules.
syscomments is still around, but it is retained read-only solely for compatibility.
So all you should need to do is to change your #SQLQuery1,2,etc. variables to a single NVARCHAR(MAX) variable, and pull your View code from the [definition] column of the sys.sql_modules table instead.
Note that you should be careful with your string manipulations as there are certain functions that will revert to (N)VARCHAR(4000) output if all of their input arguments are not (N)VARCHAR(MAX). (Sorry, I do not know which ones, but REPLACE() may be one). In fact, this may be what has been causing so much confusion in your tests.
declare your sql variables (#SQLQuery1...) as nvarchar(4000)
be sure each sql part did't exceed 4000 byte (copy each part to a text file and test the file size in bytes)
I need to insert chinese characters in my database but it always show ???? ..
Example:
Insert this record.
微波室外单元-Apple
Then it became ???
Result:
??????-Apple
I really Need Help...thanks in regard.
I am using MSSQL Server 2008
Make sure you specify a unicode string with a capital N when you insert like:
INSERT INTO Table1 (Col1) SELECT N'微波室外单元-Apple' AS [Col1]
and that Table1 (Col1) is an NVARCHAR data type.
Make sure the column you're inserting to is nchar, nvarchar, or ntext. If you insert a Unicode string into an ANSI column, you really will get question marks in the data.
Also, be careful to check that when you pull the data back out you're not just seeing a client display problem but are actually getting the question marks back:
SELECT Unicode(YourColumn), YourColumn FROM YourTable
Note that the Unicode function returns the code of only the first character in the string.
Once you've determined whether the column is really storing the data correctly, post back and we'll help you more.
Try adding the appropriate languages to your Windows locale setings. you'll have to make sure your development machine is set to display Non-Unicode characters in the appropriate language.
And ofcourse u need to use NVarchar for foreign language feilds
Make sure that you have set an encoding for the database to one that supports these characters. UTF-8 is the de facto encoding as it's ASCII compatible but supports all 1114111 Unicode code points.
SELECT 'UPDATE table SET msg=UNISTR('''||ASCIISTR(msg)||''') WHERE id='''||id||''' FROM table WHERE id= '123344556' ;
I have inserted into database some chinese characters. (Column name is NAME, data type is VARCHAR2)
My project name is: 中文版测试 and I need to select project by this name.
But.
In oracle database are inserted 中文版测试 with name : ÖÐÎÄ°æ²âÊÔ (If I understand right my database has a set with the name WE8ISO8859P1)
I want to convert this characters from database (ÖÐÎÄ°æ²âÊÔ) to chinese characters (中文版测试) or to a same values to compare.
I try this:
select DIRNAME from MILLENNIUM.PROJECTINFO where UPPER(convert(NAME, 'AL32UTF8', 'we8iso8859p1')) = UPPER(convert('中文版测试', 'WE8MSWIN1252', 'AL32UTF8'));
I need to compare values from oracle with the name of the project.
Oracle settings:
NLS_CHARACTERSET WE8ISO8859P1 0
NLS_NCHAR_CHARACTERSET AL16UTF16 0
AS Michael O'Neill already pointed out it is not possible to store Chinese characters in character set WE8ISO8859P1. All unsupported characters are automatically replaced by ¿ (or any other place holder)
BTW, WE8ISO8859P1 is different to WE8MSWIN1252 (see What is the exact difference between Windows-1252(1/3/4) and ISO-8859-1?), so your conversion does not work anyway.
Solution is to change data type of column NAME to NVARCHAR2 or migrate your database to UTF-8, see Character Set Migration and Database Migration Assistant for Unicode Guide. In any case you should consider your data being lost, resp. corrupted.
However, in case your client application was configured wrongly then in certain circumstances it is possible to insert unsupported characters, see If we have US7ASCII characterset why does it let us store non-ascii characters?.
In such case you can try to repair your data as this:
ALTER TABLE PROJECTINFO ADD NAME_CN NVARCHAR2(100);
UPDATE PROJECTINFO SET NAME_CN = UTL_I18N.RAW_TO_NCHAR(UTL_I18N.STRING_TO_RAW(NAME), 'ZHS16CGB231280');
ALTER TABLE PROJECTINFO DROP COLUMN NAME;
ALTER TABLE PROJECTINFO RENAME COLUMN NAME_CN TO NAME;
select DIRNAME from MILLENNIUM.PROJECTINFO where NAME = '中文版测试';
but it may not work for all of your data.
Hence a (not recommended) workaround for your problem could be
select DIRNAME
from MILLENNIUM.PROJECTINFO
where UTL_I18N.RAW_TO_NCHAR(UTL_I18N.STRING_TO_RAW(NAME), 'ZHS16CGB231280') = '中文版测试';
You cannot take Chinese characters, insert them into a column that is bound by the WE8ISO8859P1 character set and then select them ever again as Chinese characters. You have lost information on your insert. That lost information cannot be reconstituted.
In your case, the NAME column if it were defined as NVARCHAR2, you could do a AL16UTF16 to AL16UTF16 comparison in a subsequent SELECT. Or, even better, not need to convert and compare with AL16UTF16 at all if your client tool is up to the task.