Yes, you can set the default character set and collation on various levels.

First, in your question, on the database level:

CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS foo 
 DEFAULT CHARACTER SET = 'utf8' DEFAULT COLLATE 'utf8_general_ci'

or

ALTER DATABASE foo
 DEFAULT CHARACTER SET = 'utf8' DEFAULT COLLATE 'utf8_general_ci'

All new tables in that database should be created with the new character set and database if it's not specified in the table creation command (if it is specified in table command, the specification will override the database default).

You can set the default at a server level (so that all tables are created with the default for all databases unless explicitly stated otherwise) by providing the --character-set-server and --collation-server options in your my.cnf and restarting the server.

And finally, verify the client connection settings. This doc explains how the client connection can fine-tune (and override) the default settings.

QUESTION #1

Why are there different levels of MySQL collation/charsets?

ANSWER TO QUESTION #1

There are two good reasons for different character sets and collations

Reason #1 : Disk Space

When you run this query

SELECT
    maxlen,
    GROUP_CONCAT(CHARACTER_SET_NAME) CharSets,
    COUNT(1) CharSetCount
FROM information_schema.character_sets
GROUP BY maxlen\G

You get this:

mysql> SELECT
    ->     maxlen,
    ->     GROUP_CONCAT(CHARACTER_SET_NAME) CharSets,
    ->     COUNT(1) CharSetCount
    -> FROM information_schema.character_sets
    -> GROUP BY maxlen\G
*************************** 1. row ***************************
      maxlen: 1
    CharSets: cp1257,cp850,binary,koi8r,latin2,ascii,tis620,koi8u,greek,armscii8,keybcs2,macroman,latin7,cp1251,cp1256,dec8,hp8,geostd8,latin1,swe7,hebrew,cp1250,latin5,cp866,macce,cp852
CharSetCount: 26
*************************** 2. row ***************************
      maxlen: 2
    CharSets: big5,cp932,sjis,gbk,ucs2,euckr,gb2312
CharSetCount: 7
*************************** 3. row ***************************
      maxlen: 3
    CharSets: eucjpms,ujis,utf8
CharSetCount: 3
*************************** 4. row ***************************
      maxlen: 4
    CharSets: utf16,utf32,utf8mb4
CharSetCount: 3
4 rows in set (0.00 sec)

mysql>

Some character sets have a Maximum Length of 1 byte to represent a character. Other need more. Give this information, you may want to refrain from using the eucjpms, ujis, utf8, utf16, utf32, utf8mb4 character sets so that VARCHAR and TEXT data takes less space on disk.

Reason #2 : Internationalization

Characters Sets Each Come With One or More Collations to cover a variety of Languages

When you run this query

SELECT
    A.CHARACTER_SET_NAME,
    GROUP_CONCAT(COLLATION_NAME) Collations,
    COUNT(1) CollationCount
FROM
    information_schema.character_sets A
    INNER JOIN information_schema.collations B
    USING (CHARACTER_SET_NAME)
GROUP BY A.CHARACTER_SET_NAME\G

You will see that some Characters Sets have with multiple collations for Different Parts of Europe. Chinese, Japanese, Greek, and parts of Asia Minor and Scandinavia are also available.

QUESTION #2

Should you always ensure your PHP connection matches the charset of the database you're working on?

ANSWER TO QUESTION #2

SCENARIO

You are driving at 3:00 AM. You are the only driver on the road. You come to an intersection. You have the red light.

Question : Do you stop or go through the red light?

Answer : Depends on the neighborhood

• Safe neighborhood ?
  • Some abide by the law, stop at the red, and wait for green.
  • Some chance it and go through
• Bad neighborhood or new to the area ?
  • Some abide by the law, stop at the red, and wait for green AT THE RISK OF A CARJACKING
  • Some chance it and go through to AVOID OR REDUCE RISK OF A CARJACKING
  • Assume the worst and find another route

How does this apply?

You should err on the side of caution. You should always check the charset beforehand because you do not know the neighborhood (client program, internet browser) the PHP connection will be entering and if there is a risk of a carjacking (putting invalid data into the database, requesting too much data for retrieval).

QUESTION #3

If you can have different tables that use different character sets do you just use SET NAMES or mysql(i)_set_charset to switch?

ANSWER TO QUESTION #3

By all means

QUESTION #4

If you have a table that has multiple charsets how do you manage that since the connection can only use one charset at a time?

ANSWER TO QUESTION #4

You may have to shift character sets with the DB Session. Here are the settings that can be changed at the session level:

• character_set_client
• character_set_connection
• character_set_database
• character_set_filesystem
• character_set_results

Please set these carefully before reading from and writing to the database. It would also be wise to store the character set name and collation in the same table you will be accessing.