1  SET_CHARACTER_LENGTH
   Specifies whether the length of character string parameters,
   columns, domains, and offsets are interpreted as characters or
   octets. (An octet is a group of 8 bits.)
 

2  Environment
   You can use the SET CHARACTER LENGTH statement:

   o  In interactive SQL

   o  Embedded in host language programs to be precompiled

   o  As part of a procedure in an SQL module

   o  In dynamic SQL as a statement to be dynamically executed
 

2  Format

 SET CHARACTER LENGTH -----> runtime-options ------>
 



 runtime-options
 
 --+---> 'string-literal' ------+----->
   +---> parameter -------------+
   +---> parameter-marker ------+

 

2  Arguments
 

3  parameter

   Specifies the value of runtime-options, which must be one of the
   following:

   o  OCTETS

   o  CHARACTERS

   CHARACTERS specifies the length of character string parameters,
   columns, domains, and offsets, which are interpreted as
   characters.

   OCTETS specifies the length of character string parameters,
   columns, domains, and offsets, which are interpreted as octets.

   The default is octets.
 

3  parameter-marker

   Specifies the value of runtime-options, which must be one of the
   following:

   o  OCTETS

   o  CHARACTERS

   CHARACTERS specifies the length of character string parameters,
   columns, domains, and offsets, which are interpreted as
   characters.

   OCTETS specifies the length of character string parameters,
   columns, domains, and offsets, which are interpreted as octets.

   The default is octets.
 

3  'string-literal'

   Specifies the value of runtime-options, which must be one of the
   following:

   o  OCTETS

   o  CHARACTERS

   CHARACTERS specifies the length of character string parameters,
   columns, domains, and offsets, which are interpreted as
   characters.

   OCTETS specifies the length of character string parameters,
   columns, domains, and offsets, which are interpreted as octets.

   The default is octets.
 

2  Examples
   Example 1: Setting the character length to octets

   SQL> set character length 'octets';
   SQL> show connection current;
   Connection: RDB$DEFAULT_CONNECTION
   Default alias is RDB$DBHANDLE
   Default catalog name is RDB$CATALOG
   Default schema name is SMITH
   Dialect: SQLV40
   Default character unit: OCTETS
   Keyword Rules: SQLV40
   View Rules: SQLV40
   Default DATE type: DATE VMS
   Quoting Rules: SQLV40
   Optimization Level: DEFAULT
   Hold Cursors default: WITH HOLD PRESERVE NONE
   Quiet commit mode: OFF
   Compound transactions mode: EXTERNAL
   Default character set is DEC_MCS
   National character set is DEC_MCS
   Identifier character set is DEC_MCS
   Literal character set is DEC_MCS
   Display character set is UNSPECIFIED

   Alias RDB$DBHANDLE:
           Identifier character set is DEC_MCS
           Default character set is DEC_MCS
           National character set is DEC_MCS
   SQL> /*
   ***> Create two domains: one uses LATIN9, a single-octet character
   ***> set, and one uses KANJI a fixed multi-octet character set.
   ***> */
   SQL> create domain LATIN9_DOM char(8) character set ISOLATIN9;
   SQL> create domain KANJI_DOM char(5) character set KANJI;
   %SQL-F-CHRUNIBAD, Number of octets is not an integral number of characters
   SQL> /*
   ***> Because KANJI is a fixed multi-octet character set, using two
   ***> octets for each character, you must specify the size as a
   ***> multiple of two.
   ***> */
   SQL> create domain KANJI_DOM char(8) character set KANJI;
   SQL> show domains;
   User domains in database with filename MIA_CHAR_SET
   KANJI_DOM                       CHAR(8)
            KANJI 4 Characters,  8 Octets
   LATIN9_DOM                      CHAR(8)
            ISOLATIN9 8 Characters,  8 Octets
   SQL>

   Example 2: Setting the character length to characters

   SQL> set character length 'characters';
   SQL> show connection current;
   Connection: RDB$DEFAULT_CONNECTION
   Default alias is RDB$DBHANDLE
   Default catalog name is RDB$CATALOG
   Default schema name is SMITH
   Dialect: SQLV40
   Default character unit: CHARACTERS
   Keyword Rules: SQLV40
   View Rules: SQLV40
   Default DATE type: DATE VMS
   Quoting Rules: SQLV40
   Optimization Level: DEFAULT
   Hold Cursors default: WITH HOLD PRESERVE NONE
   Quiet commit mode: OFF
   Compound transactions mode: EXTERNAL
   Default character set is DEC_MCS
   National character set is DEC_MCS
   Identifier character set is DEC_MCS
   Literal character set is DEC_MCS
   Display character set is UNSPECIFIED

   Alias RDB$DBHANDLE:
           Identifier character set is DEC_MCS
           Default character set is DEC_MCS
           National character set is DEC_MCS
   SQL> /*
   ***> Create two domains: one uses LATIN9, a single-octet character
   ***> set, and one uses KANJI a fixed multi-octet character set.
   ***> */
   SQL> create domain LATIN9_DOM char(8) character set ISOLATIN9;
   SQL> create domain KANJI_DOM char(5) character set KANJI;
   SQL> show domains;
   User domains in database with filename MIA_CHAR_SET
   KANJI_DOM                       CHAR(5)
            KANJI 5 Characters,  10 Octets
   LATIN9_DOM                      CHAR(8)
            ISOLATIN9 8 Characters,  8 Octets
   SQL>