1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 1 To have UTF-8 data in your tables, the following needs to be done (see the HowToUseUnicodeStrings on the Ruby Wiki for details): (a) Set "encoding: utf8" on all tables in config/database.yml, so as to make the Ruby connection to the Mysql database use UTF-8. (b) Put the following two lines at the beginning of environment.rb: $KCODE = 'u' require 'jcode' (c) Set up apache for sending UTF-8. Tried various things with Apache 1.3, including AddDefaultCharset, through .htaccess, etc., finally gave up and switched to Apache 2.2. (d) Set up Mysql to handle UTF-8: (i) Make the default database charset be UTF-8, and also fix collation. In the [mysqld] section of /etc/mysql/my.cnf, use: default-character-set=utf8 default-collation=utf8_general_ci (ii) Can also force client connections to use UTF-8, but that is not always a good idea. See 2(a) for how to ensure that the Ruby connections use UTF-8. (iii) Ensure that any data entered into the tables are actually in UTF-8. E.g., when using the mysql client from a terminal, ensure that the terminal itself is set to UTF-8, and use: set names utf8; to make client and connection charsets be UTF-8. Check that all is OK, with: SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'character\_set\_%'; Here is what I get, as an example: Here is what I get, as an example: +--------------------------+--------+ | Variable_name | Value | +--------------------------+--------+ | character_set_client | utf8 | | character_set_connection | utf8 | | character_set_database | utf8 | | character_set_filesystem | binary | | character_set_results | utf8 | | character_set_server | utf8 | | character_set_system | utf8 | +--------------------------+--------+ 2. To use gettext for native language support, see various links that can be found through Google (e.g., search for "rails ruby gettext") These seem like good starting points: http://www.yotabanana.com/hiki/ruby-gettext-howto-rails.html http://manuals.rubyonrails.com/read/chapter/105 I remember that I tried setting up a RoR site with gettext, but cannot now remember how far I got. If you try these, and get stuck, I can try to help out.