3 ms·

ok - but parent referred to "utf8 character set". As if things weren't confusing enough already!

chrismorgan 8y ago
They’re called character sets in SQL; see, for example, https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/charset-unicode-utf8mb3.html https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/charset-unicode-utf8... . I’ve clarified the original comment.
philbarr 8y ago
Can't reply to the sibling comment by Chris, but there isn't a "utf8 character set". There's just different encodings of a character set. Even after hunting around after going to the 404 you pointed me to, I still get this: utf8mb4: A UTF-8 encoding of the Unicode character set using one to four bytes per character. utf8mb3: A UTF-8 encoding of the Unicode character set using one to three bytes per character. So I don't think they are "different for SQL", whatever that means. Sorry - not trying to sound snarky but terminology is important and this is an area people easily get tripped up in. Especially me.
- chrismorgan 8y ago
  Not sure why the reply link is sometimes missing, but in my experience if you open just that comment (via the “N minutes ago” link) the textbox for replying is there and works. Perhaps the link is omitted to discourage rapid conversation? I fixed the link almost immediately—pesky inclusion of the dot in “.)” --- The SQL specification (I cite SQL-92) speaks of character sets (and uses the keyword CHARACTER SET). That outside of SQL, Unicode is the character set which happens to have multiple encodings, is immaterial; in SQL, each Unicode encoding is a CHARACTER SET—`CHARACTER SET utf8`, `CHARACTER SET utf8mb4`, whatever. This is the sense in which I used the term “character set”, the SQL sense. Before UCS-2 was proved insufficient, that encoding was actually called UNICODE, Wikipedia tells me. Concerning MySQL, utf8mb3 is an alias for utf8 which was introduced after utf8. I’m guessing it was introduced simultaneously with utf8mb4.
  - philbarr 8y ago
    > utf8mb3 is an alias for utf8 which was introduced after utf8 I didn't know this - and although I don't use MySQL much these days it good to know, thank you. > in SQL, each Unicode encoding is a CHARACTER SET.... I see what you mean. That's pretty confusing... > but in my experience if you open just that comment (via the “N minutes ago” link) the textbox for replying is there and works It totally does!
    - chrismorgan 8y ago
      I didn't know about the utf8mb3 name until today.
  - steveklabnik 8y ago
    > Perhaps the link is omitted to discourage rapid conversation? That's correct, in my understanding. And yes, clicking on "N minutes ago" is the way around it.

They’re called character sets in SQL; see, for example, https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/charset-unicode-utf8mb3.html https://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/charset-unicode-utf8... . I’ve clarified the original comment.

philbarr 8y ago

Can't reply to the sibling comment by Chris, but there isn't a "utf8 character set". There's just different encodings of a character set. Even after hunting around after going to the 404 you pointed me to, I still get this: utf8mb4: A UTF-8 encoding of the Unicode character set using one to four bytes per character. utf8mb3: A UTF-8 encoding of the Unicode character set using one to three bytes per character. So I don't think they are "different for SQL", whatever that means. Sorry - not trying to sound snarky but terminology is important and this is an area people easily get tripped up in. Especially me.

chrismorgan 8y ago
Not sure why the reply link is sometimes missing, but in my experience if you open just that comment (via the “N minutes ago” link) the textbox for replying is there and works. Perhaps the link is omitted to discourage rapid conversation? I fixed the link almost immediately—pesky inclusion of the dot in “.)” --- The SQL specification (I cite SQL-92) speaks of character sets (and uses the keyword CHARACTER SET). That outside of SQL, Unicode is the character set which happens to have multiple encodings, is immaterial; in SQL, each Unicode encoding is a CHARACTER SET—`CHARACTER SET utf8`, `CHARACTER SET utf8mb4`, whatever. This is the sense in which I used the term “character set”, the SQL sense. Before UCS-2 was proved insufficient, that encoding was actually called UNICODE, Wikipedia tells me. Concerning MySQL, utf8mb3 is an alias for utf8 which was introduced after utf8. I’m guessing it was introduced simultaneously with utf8mb4.
- philbarr 8y ago
  > utf8mb3 is an alias for utf8 which was introduced after utf8 I didn't know this - and although I don't use MySQL much these days it good to know, thank you. > in SQL, each Unicode encoding is a CHARACTER SET.... I see what you mean. That's pretty confusing... > but in my experience if you open just that comment (via the “N minutes ago” link) the textbox for replying is there and works It totally does!
  - chrismorgan 8y ago
    I didn't know about the utf8mb3 name until today.
- steveklabnik 8y ago
  > Perhaps the link is omitted to discourage rapid conversation? That's correct, in my understanding. And yes, clicking on "N minutes ago" is the way around it.