mysql collation and indexes

What mysql collation should I use for my tables to support all european languages, all latin american languages, and maybe chinese, maybe asian languages? Thanks!

What is the rule when it comes to usi开发者_如何学JAVAng indexes on mysql table columns? When should you not use an index for a column in a table?

1. UTF8 would probably be the best choice, more specific; utf8_general_ci.

2. Indices should not be set in a table that you're going to perform a huge amount of insertions into. Indices speed up SELECT-queries, but these indices need to be rebuilt everytime you INSERT into the table. So, if you have a table that's... well, let's say it stores news articles - suitable indices might be the title or something that you might wanna "search" for.

Hope this clears some things up.

utf8

utf8-general

is universal character set...

you should not use index when you're sure you will not search for it (via WHERE clause)