How to know the actual codification of a text stored in a MySQL table field?

Question

Hello guys,

I have a very simple question. I just need to determine the codification (UTF8, latin1) of a text stored in a MYSQL table field.

Thanks for you help!

Guillermo

Answer 1

I've used SELECT COLLATION(column) FROM table LIMIT 1;

Answer 2

Well, the data will be stored according to the charset and collation settings that were in effect at the time the data was stored.

Which charset and collation values are used for a given piece of data can come from any one of four places

1. Server Settings
2. Database Settings
3. Table Settings
4. Column Settings

All this information is discoverable through querying the INFORMATION_SCHEMA database