Code Attribute 

For column values with the following data types, a code attribute can be entered as part of a column definition, if required: CHAR[ACTER], VARCHAR, LONG[VARCHAR].

A code attribute defines the sort sequence to be used for comparing values.

Code Attribute	Column Values
No code attribute	The column values have the code attribute defined in the database system.
ASCII	The column values are stored in ASCII code.
BYTE	The column values are stored in a code, that is, the column values are not converted by the database system.
UNICODE	The application data in a table column is stored in UNICODE.

If you do not specify a code attribute, the code defined in the database system is used. The code can be defined for specific users or globally using the following options:

·        The code can be defined for specific users using appropriate SQL statements (for more information, see: CREATE/ALTER USER Statement or CREATE/ALTER USERGROUP Statement).

·        The code can be defined globally during the installation of the database system using the special database parameter DEFAULT_CODE.

The code defined for a user overrides the code specified globally in the database system.