how to change the char set to WE8ISO8859P1 in our Oracle 9i

[DnD_1]

Hi guys,

I've just installed the fresh new Oracle 9i in our HP UX Server, and can someone guide me how to convert the Char set to WE8ISO8859P1 ?

FYI, the Oracle DB has none data yet !

Thanks !!

[Jeff_Traigle]

Found this article via Google:

http://oracle.ittoolbox.com/groups/technical-functional/oracle-db-l/changing-the-characterset-of-database-2177517

[Carlos Zoller · Accepted solution]

Hello DnD,

To change the character set on your database you simply need to execute the following instrucction (connected as sysdba):

ALTER DATABASE CHARACTER SET WE8ISO8859P1;

To do this you need to startup your database in restricted mode:

STARTUP RESTRICT;

Now if your database is fresh (just installed) I'd say you have nothing to loose. However, it would be a good idea to use the "csscan" command to detect if the new Charset would not cause to corrupt data. Remember that eventhough you have no application data yet, some dictionary entries might get corrupted. I think not, but better be sure.

Let us know how it goes.

BR,

[Vadim Loginov]

Hi DnD,

Just for your information:

The database character set is used to store all the data in columns of type VARCHAR2, CLOB, CHAR, and LONG. If you change it, you may destroy all the data in your existiong columns of these types.

You can also use Database Character Set Scanner to check if conversion to WE8ISO8859P1 would cause any problems . (You need to download and install it for Oracle9i)

csscan system/pass full=y tochar=WE8ISO8859P1

Regards,
Vadim