What MySQL Collation Should I Choose for My Multilingual PHP Website?

Collation Recommendations for MySQL with PHP Websites

When dealing with multilingual websites in PHP and MySQL, choosing the appropriate collation becomes crucial. While specific website requirements may dictate a customized approach, there are general guidelines and recommendations to follow.

Recommended Collation

The MySQL documentation suggests utf8_unicode_ci or utf8_general_ci as suitable collations for most use cases where precise character comparison is not essential. However, if accuracy is a priority, selecting a language-specific utf8 encoding (e.g., utf8_swedish_ci) is advised.

utf8_general_ci and utf8_unicode_ci

These two collations provide reasonable performance with moderate accuracy. utf8_general_ci is slightly faster but less accurate for sorting characters within a given language, while utf8_unicode_ci favors accuracy over speed.

utf8_bin

Unlike other utf8 collations, utf8_bin compares characters in binary format. This method sacrifices accuracy for improved performance in applications where binary data handling is more critical.

Additional Considerations

Aside from MySQL collation, ensuring consistency across PHP settings, Apache, HTML, and other system components is essential for proper character handling. PHP versions from 5.6 onwards support the utf8 encoding by default, making it a safe choice for Unicode handling.

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