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When I create a new MySQL database through phpMyAdmin, I have the option to choose the collation (e.g.-default, armscii8, ascii, ... and UTF-8). The one I know is UTF-8, since I always see this in HTML source code. But what is the default collation? What are the differences between these choices, and which one should I use?
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The default MySQL server character set and collation are latin1 and latin1_swedish_ci , but you can specify character sets at the server, database, table, column, and string literal levels.
A collation is a set of rules that defines how to compare and sort character strings. Each collation in MySQL belongs to a single character set. Every character set has at least one collation, and most have two or more collations. A collation orders characters based on weights.
The difference between utf8 and utf8mb4 is that the former can only store 3 byte characters, while the latter can store 4 byte characters. In Unicode terms, utf8 can only store characters in the Basic Multilingual Plane, while utf8mb4 can store any Unicode character.
Collation tells database how to perform string matching and sorting. It should match your charset.
If you use UTF-8, the collation should be utf8_general_ci. This will sort in unicode order (case-insensitive) and it works for most languages. It also preserves ASCII and Latin1 order.
The default collation is normally latin1.
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Collation is not actually the default, it's giving you the default collation as the first choice.
What we're talking about is collation, or the character set that your database will use in its text types. Your default option is usually based on regional settings, so unless you're planning to globalize, that's usually peachy-keen.
Collations also determine case and accent sensitivity (i.e.-Is 'Big' == 'big'? With a CI, it is). Check out the MySQL list for all the options.
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