How SQL Server handles multi byte characters?

To store multi byte characters you need to use Unicode data type in SQL Server. SQL Server has four data types for Unicode characters. (nchar, nvarchar, nvarchar(max),ntext)

See below for the MSDN definitions for the above data types; (except ntext)

Character data types that are either fixed-length, nchar, or variable-length, nvarchar, Unicode data and use the UNICODE UCS-2 character set.

nchar [ ( n ) ]

Fixed-length Unicode character data of n characters. n must be a value from 1 through 4,000. The storage size is two times n bytes. The ISO synonyms for nchar are national char and national character.

nvarchar [ ( n | max ) ]

Variable-length Unicode character data. ncan be a value from 1 through 4,000. max indicates that the maximum storage size is 2^31-1 bytes. The storage size, in bytes, is two times the number of characters entered + 2 bytes. The data entered can be 0 characters in length. The ISO synonyms for nvarchar are national char varying and national character varying.


nchar, nvarchar

Geospatial data support in SQL Server

I wanted to do some research on geospatial data support in SQL Server after attending Refresh Colombo July meeting.

There Janith did a small presentation on how to finding a bus route in Colombo. Here is his blog explaining how he has done it. 

He has implemented the solution based on MYSQL database and I’m not quite sure about the database design used for the application.

This tended me to look at how we can implement such a thing in MS SQL Server and did some googling around the geospatial data support.