mysql_set_charset Sets the client character set &mysql.alternative.note; mysqli_character_set_name PDO: Add charset to the connection string, such as charset=utf8 &reftitle.description; boolmysql_set_charset stringcharset resourcelink_identifierNULL Sets the default character set for the current connection. &reftitle.parameters; charset A valid character set name. &mysql.linkid.description; &reftitle.returnvalues; &return.success; &reftitle.notes; This function requires MySQL 5.0.7 or later. This is the preferred way to change the charset. Using mysql_query to set it (such as SET NAMES utf8) is not recommended. See the MySQL character set concepts section for more information. &reftitle.seealso; mysql_client_encoding Setting character sets in MySQL List of character sets that MySQL supports