When you create a database, Sybase IQ lets you choose a collation or rely on the default of ISO_BINENG. In most cases, the default collation is a suitable choice, but you can also explicitly choose a collation to match your needs from the wide selection of supplied collations.
In some cases, Sybase IQ supports more than one collation for a particular language. Different collations vary in the characters they include and in the way they sort special characters, including ligatures (characters consisting of two or more characters joined together) and accented characters. You should choose a collation that uses a character set and sort order that are appropriate for the data in your database.
For more information about sorting of data and international features, see “Sybase IQ international features”.
Another consideration when you choose a collation is whether to use an ANSI or an OEM collation. OEM collations are suited to character-mode applications (those using the console or command prompt window) in Windows 95/98/Me and Windows NT/2000/XP. ANSI collations are designed for Windows environments, and are recommended in the majority of cases.
For more information about the differences between ANSI and OEM collations, see “ANSI and OEM code pages in Windows” and “ANSI or OEM?”.
