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The Design of Software (CLOSED)

What is a recommended practice to store C# Unicode strings into a local Access database with CHAR fields in tables?

Should I convert the Unicode strings to ANSI used in Windows and then save it to the char fields?

Or should I save there the whole Unicode string, presuming that when I read it later to a Unicode string variable, I will get readable text again?

At least I hope that Access database with for instance CHAR(20) fields doesn't support Unicode as default?

Thank you,
Petr

Don't use Access. Use SQL Server Compact Edition instead. It is an embeddable database just like Access so there is not need to use Access anymore.

And for SQL Server databases use NVARCHAR for unicode support.

Thank you,

I would like to use something that is directly in Windows 2000 and up, and I am planning to make my first .NET (WonForms) application in VC# Express. Can I use that SQL in the Express Edition?

TEXT types in Jet MDBs have been Unicode for some time.  You can use DML phrases such as CHAR(20) WITH COMP to get Unicode compression as well.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/Aa140015(office.10).aspx

Grr... DDL phrases.

Thank you for the link Justinian, I am using Access 2000, so Unicode is already supported. I tried it and it works.

I am just curious if the Unicode support will be working also in Windows 2000?

I believe Windows 2000 shipped with the Jet 4.0 OLEDB Provider as part of the base install.  So as long as the "Jet OLEDB:Engine Type=5" ("Access 2000 format") or later when you create the database you should be fine I'd think.

I've heard that it is pretty complicated to create a new Access database file from scratch in code. Instead of creating the whole database, I plan to use an empty MDB file created in MS Access (it won't contain any tables), then copy this empty database to my location and create all the tables in code.

Does this sound right? Or is there some easy way how to create new Access database in code?