sys.syscharsets (Transact-SQL)

Contains one row for each character set and sort order defined for use by the SQL Server Database Engine. One of the sort orders is marked in sysconfigures as the default sort order. This is the only one actually being used.

Column name

Data type

Description

type

smallint

Type of entity this row represents:

1001 = Character set.

2001 = Sort order.

id

tinyint

Unique ID for the character set or sort order. Note sort orders and character sets cannot share the same ID number. The ID range of 1 through 240 is reserved for use by the Database Engine.

csid

tinyint

If the row represents a character set, this field is unused. If the row represents a sort order, this field is the ID of the character set that the sort order is built on. It is assumed a character set row with this ID exists in this table.

status

smallint

Internal system status information bits.

name

sysname

Unique name for the character set or sort order. This field must contain only the letters A-Z or a-z, numbers 0 - 9, and underscores(_); and it must start with a letter.

description

nvarchar(255)

Optional description of the features of the character set or sort order.

binarydefinition

varbinary(255)

Identified for informational purposes only. Not supported. Future compatibility is not guaranteed.

definition

image

Internal definition of the character set or sort order. The structure of the data in this field depends on the type.