Collation support
Collation by HCL OneDB™ database servers depends on the data type of the database column.
The following table summarizes the collation rules.
| Column data types | Collating order |
|---|---|
| CHAR, VARCHAR, TEXT | Code-set order |
| LVARCHAR | Code-set order |
| NCHAR, NVARCHAR | Localized order |
The difference in collation is the only distinction between the
CHAR and NCHAR data types and between the VARCHAR and NVARCHAR data
types. For more information about collation, see Character data types. If a locale does not
define a localized order, the database server collates NCHAR and NVARCHAR
data values in code-set order.
Important: There is an exception
to the general rule that CHAR, LVARCHAR, and VCHAR values are always
sorted in the code-set order. The MATCHES operator always uses the
localized order, if one is defined, to evaluate range expressions
for character values, regardless of the data type. See MATCHES condition.