How Do I Specify Character Sets When Connecting to MySQL Using PHP's PDO?

Passing Character Set Information to PDO Connections

When working with MySQL connections through PHP's PDO (PHP Data Objects) library, it's important to ensure that character set information is properly handled to enable correct data handling and display. Previous versions of the mysql_* extension provided two common ways to specify character sets: mysql_set_charset() and mysql_query("SET NAMES 'UTF8'").

With PDO, specifying the character set is handled differently. Two methods are available:

1. Use a Character Set DSN Option:

   • Include the charset option in your PDO connection string to specify the character set. For example:

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

2. Use the exec() Method (for PHP versions prior to 5.3.6):

   • In PHP versions prior to 5.3.6, you can set the character set using the exec() method after establishing the PDO connection:

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

It's important to note that, by default, PDO does not automatically set the character set. Therefore, it's recommended to always specify the character set using one of the methods described above to ensure that data is handled and displayed correctly.

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