When you run a query against a MariaDB database, MariaDB uses a bunch of system variables to determine which character set and collation to use whenever queries are run. If the client uses a different character set to the server, then MariaDB can translate it into an appropriate character set and collation.
When sending the query results back to the client, MariaDB can translate these results back to a different character set altogether if required. MariaDB uses system variables to determine which character sets and collations to use at each of these steps.
Here are three ways to show the connection collation in MariaDB.
Continue reading