PDO and MySQL: Should I Set the Charset in the Connection String or Use `SET NAMES`?

PDO: Do I Need to Set Charset and Set Names?

In the past, when using the mysql_* functions, it was necessary to set the charset and execute a SET NAMES query to ensure proper character encoding. The same principle applies to PDO connections.

PDO Option

For PDO connections, you can specify the charset as part of the connection string:

$connect = new PDO("mysql:host=$host;dbname=$db;charset=utf8mb4", $user, $pass, array(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE => PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION));

Pre-PHP 5.3.6

If you are using PHP prior to version 5.3.6, the charset option is ignored. To set the charset in this case, you must use PDO's exec() method:

$dbh = new PDO("mysql:host=$host;dbname=$db",  $user, $password);
$dbh->exec("set names utf8mb4");

By setting the charset, you ensure that your application communicates with the database using the correct character encoding, avoiding data corruption and display issues.

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