Unicode to client code set

Because the Unicode code set includes all existing code sets, the Java™ virtual machine (JVM) must render the character with the platforms local code set. Inside the Java™ program, you must always use Unicode characters. The JVM on that platform converts input and output between Unicode and the local code set.

For example, you specify button labels in Unicode, and the JVM converts the text to display the label correctly. Similarly, when the getText() method gets user input from a text box, the client program gets the string in Unicode, no matter how the user entered it.

Never read a text file one byte at a time. Always use the InputStreamReader() or OutputStreamWriter() methods to manipulate text files. By default, these methods use the local encoding, but you can specify an encoding in the constructor of the class, as follows:
InputStreamReader = new InputStreamReader (in, "SJIS");

You and the JVM are responsible for getting external input into the correct Java™ Unicode string. Thereafter, the database locale encoding is used to send the data to and from the database server.