SQL Server Collating Sequence

Owned by Steffi Heineck
Mar 22, 2018
2 min read

This article describes the SQL Server collating sequence requirements for proper installation and operation of Tricerat products.

Microsoft SQL Server Collating Sequence Support

Microsoft SQL Server supports configuration of collating sequences (sort order) at three levels:

  • SQL Server level

  • Database level

  • Column level

To configure or reconfigure the collating sequence at the SQL Server level, the SQL Server Configuration Wizard must be used.

Except for system objects, the collating sequence for a database can be configured using syntax similar to the following example:

ALTER DATABASE <database-name>
COLLATE <collation sequence name>;
GO

The collating sequence for a column can be configured using syntax similar to the following example:

ALTER TABLE <table-name> ALTER COLUMN <column-name> COLLATE <collation sequence name>;

GO

Microsoft SQL Server Default Collating Sequence

Routine installation of either a default instance or a named instance of Microsoft SQL Server results in a standard collating sequence of SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS.

Tricerat Requirement: Case-Insensitive

All Tricerat SQL-oriented products require a case-insensitive collating sequence at both the SQL Server level and the database level.

This is both necessary and sufficient for Tricerat products for all languages currently supported.

Changing the collating sequence to a case-sensitive collation is not supported for any Tricerat product.

Installer Behavior

As of v6.7 Tricerat product installers detect the collating sequence and enforce rules requiring the collating sequence to be case-insensitive, as shown in the example below:

Summary

  • Microsoft SQL Server supports varying collating sequences at the server level, database level, and column level.:

  • All Tricerat products require a case-insensitive collating sequence

  • Changing to a case-sensitive collating sequence for Tricerat products at any level is not supported

  • Attempts to install a Tricerat product on a case-sensitive SQL Server and will be detected and blocked by Tricerat product installers