INF: How to Insert DBCS Data in SQL Server from English Windows

• Microsoft SQL Server, version 6.5

SUMMARY

There are localized Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 versions for simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Korean, and Japanese available in the Far East market. Using one of these Far East localized Windows platforms is the recommended method for working with double-byte character set (DBCS) data. This article describes how to insert DBCS data into SQL Server 6.5 from an English version of Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0.

MORE INFORMATION

To have the DBCS data generated properly, an Input Method Editor (IME) is needed. IME, also called a front-end processor, is an small program that allows the user to enter the thousands of different characters used in Far Eastern written languages using a standard 101-key keyboard. The localized versions of Windows ship with standard IMEs that are based on the most popular input methods used in each target country. Most applications that target single-byte languages are IME-unaware. For this reason, the actual DBCS data must be generated from a localized platform.

Suppose Notepad was used to create a data file in the localized Windows platform. It is highly recommended to have the same tool used for the DBCS string cut and paste purpose. This is to avoid the confusion of the code page conversion between ASNI and OEM code pages. For more information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q155233
   TITLE     : SQL Server Tools Save Files in OEM Format

ODBC Example: MSQUERY

Make sure the SQL Server ODBC Driver 2.5 or higher version is installed for the DSN setup. From the SQL Server ODBC Setup dialog box, make sure both the Use ANSI Quoted Identifiers (in the Login section) and Convert OEM To ANSI Characters (in the Translation section) check boxes are clear (that is, that they are not checked).

Copy the DBCS string from Notepad, paste it into the SQL Statement text box in the Execute SQL dialog box, and put double quotation marks (") at the beginning and end of the string. Edit the string with correct SQL Server insertion statement, such as:

   INSERT dbcstable VALUES "dbcs string"

DB-Library Example: ISQL/w

From ISQL/w, on the File menu, click Configure. This opens the Configure ISQL/w dialog box. Click the Connection tab and make sure the ANSI To OEM check box is clear (that is, not checked). Then make the connection to a SQL Server.

Copy the DBCS string from Notepad, paste it into a Query window, then put double quotation marks (") at the beginning and end of the string. Edit the string with the correct SQL Server insertion syntax, such as:

   INSERT dbcstable VALUES "dbcs string"