> One more thing that bothers me is that you
> mentioned my.cnf -file. It seems I don't have that
> file at all.
The file is mentioned in the following chapter of the manual.
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/option-files.html
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/server-parameters.html
> Now I have been able to insert cyrillic characters
> by giving a commands
> /etc/rc.d/bin/mysqld down
> /etc/rc.d/bin/mysqld up
> --default-character-set=koi8_ru
Good.
> But if I wanted to have this variable set
> everytime mysql starts then I suppose I should
> have "my.cnf" -file?
Right.
> But should it be in the
> directory for global options or for
> server-specific options?
If you want to make this option effective for all the users, you should put the file under /etc directory.
> And since in "my-medium.cnf" -file there is no
> mention about "default-character-set" , where and
> how should I write it?
You should wirte it under [mysqld] section.
> And when you say;
> "You might want to set the same parameter in
> section for the test from mysql client program." ,
> do you mean by "mysql client" that I should add
> the same parameter somewhere in Php -configuration
> file?
By 'mysql client program', I mean the the program '$Installation_directory/bin/mysql'
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/connecting-disconnecting.html
Character set configuration for php program will be different issue.
OK, assuming that you didn't do any character set related configuration when you installed MySQL and configured PHP, you should also add one line in [mysqld] section of my.cnf file like:
init_connect = 'SET NAMES koi8r'
Note that characte set name has changed, and I'm guessing that koi8r corresponds to koi8_ru.
Also, the way of handling character set has changed since ver. 4.1. So I recommend to read characte rset chapter of the manual.
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql/en/charset.html
> Now when I think about it, there is another
> consolation: after having Unicode at my disposal,
> I'll be able to make web pages even in Japanese.
> Right? It maybe will be handy some day.
Right.
Hang in there!