Character-set conversion is performed automatically on outgoing result sets of text types by default. Result sets of other types, such as binary objects, are not affected. The character set of the request is converted to the HTTP web server character set, and the result set is converted to the client application character set. The server uses the first suitable character set listed in the request when multiple sets are listed.
Character-set conversion can be enabled or disabled by setting the HTTP option 'CharsetConversion' option of the sa_set_http_option system procedure.
The following example illustrates how to turn off automatic character-set conversion:
CALL sa_set_http_option('CharsetConversion', 'OFF');
You can use the 'AcceptCharset' option of the sa_set_http_option system procedure to specify the character-set encoding preference when character-set conversion is enabled.
The following example illustrates how to specify the web service character set encoding preference to ISO-8859-5, if supported; otherwise, set it to UTF-8:
CALL sa_set_http_option('AcceptCharset', 'iso-8859-5, utf-8');
Character sets are prioritized by server preference but the selection also considers the client's Accept-Charset criteria. The most favored character set according to the client that is also specified by this option is used.