php - Set character set using MySQLi

Question

I'm fetching data in Arabic from MySQL tables with MySQLi. So I usually use this in procedural style:

mysql_query("SET NAMES 'utf8'"); 
mysql_query('SET CHARACTER SET utf8'); 

Now I am using the OOP style so I am trying to see if there is something I could set rather than the above?

I only found this in PHP manual so I did it, but what about setting names to UTF8?

$mysqli->set_charset("utf8");

Answer 1

It's the same:

$mysqli->query("SET NAMES 'utf8'");

From the manual:

This is the preferred way to change the charset. Using mysqli::query() to execute SET NAMES .. is not recommended.

$mysqli->set_charset("utf8"); is just enough, let the mysqli db driver do the thing for you.