The server character set and collation can be determined from the values of the character_set_server and collation_server system variables.

The character set and collation of the default database can be determined from the values of the character_set_database and collation_database system variables.

What character set is the statement in when it leaves the client?

The server takes the character_set_client system variable to be the character set in which statements are sent by the client.

What character set should the server translate a statement to after receiving it?

For this, the server uses the character_set_connection and collation_connection system variables. It converts statements sent by the client from character_set_client to character_set_connection (except for string literals that have an introducer such as _latin1 or _utf8). collation_connection is important for comparisons of literal strings. For comparisons of strings with column values, collation_connection does not matter because columns have their own collation, which has a higher collation precedence.

What character set should the server translate to before shipping result sets back to the client?

The character_set_results system variable indicates the character set in which the server returns query results to the client. This includes result data such as column values, and result metadata such as column names.

SET NAMES 'charset_name' [COLLATE 'collation_name']

SET NAMES indicates what character set the client will use to send SQL statements to the server. Thus, SET NAMES 'cp1251' tells the server, “future incoming messages from this client are in character set cp1251.” It also specifies the character set that the server should use for sending results back to the client. (For example, it indicates what character set to use for column values if you use a SELECT statement.)

A SET NAMES 'x' statement is equivalent to these three statements:

SET character_set_client = x;
SET character_set_results = x;
SET character_set_connection = x;

Setting each of these character set variables also sets its corresponding collation variable to the default correlation for the character set. For example, setting character_set_connection to x also sets collation_connection to the default collation for x. It is not necessary to set that collation explicitly. To specify a particular collation for the character sets, use the optional COLLATE clause:

SET NAMES 'charset_name' COLLATE 'collation_name'

SET CHARACTER SET charset_name

SET CHARACTER SET is similar to SET NAMES but sets character_set_connection and collation_connection to character_set_database and collation_database. A SET CHARACTER SET x statement is equivalent to these three statements:

SET character_set_client = x;
SET character_set_results = x;
SET collation_connection = @@collation_database;

Setting collation_connection also sets character_set_connection to the character set associated with the collation (equivalent to executing SET character_set_connection = @@character_set_database). It is not necessary to set character_set_connection explicitly.

In the absence of other information, the programs use the compiled-in default character set, usually latin1.

The programs support a --default-character-set option, which enables users to specify the character set explicitly to override whatever default the client otherwise determines.