PHP/MySQL/PDF: charset and how to handle strange characters

Question

Hi,

I am designing a small registration system. In this system, people write their name and surname in a form. This information is later saved in a database. The admin can later generate a personalized PDF containing this information (kind of pre-filled form).

I am struggling to understand how I should plan the database and the PDF generation in order to handle correctly as many characters as possible.

I would like to handle/display correclty at least all European Languages (Italian, French, Spanish but also Slavic Languages, German Languages, ecc..), as most of the people who will sign-up will come from all corners of Europe. Some example of "strange" characters may be "òàè říčá öåä"

Any hints? Thanks.

Answer 1

Simply use Unicode and, more specifically, UTF-8.

Also, you probably need a font with a wide character support, such as Arial Unicode.

Update

Here's a good overview about UTF-8 in web apps:

• http://www.itnewb.com/v/UTF-8-Enabled-Apache-MySQL-PHP-Markup-and-JavaScript

Since you refer to accented letters as "strange characters", I also recommend this article:

• http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/Unicode.html

Neither of these links cover PDF libraries but once you get the fundamentals you should be able to evaluate the Unicode abilities of your library of choice.