NAME

       DBIx::Class::UTF8Columns - Force UTF8 (Unicode) flag on columns (DEPRECATED)

SYNOPSIS

           package Artist;
           use base 'DBIx::Class::Core';

           __PACKAGE__->load_components(qw/UTF8Columns/);
           __PACKAGE__->utf8_columns(qw/name description/);

           # then belows return strings with utf8 flag
           $artist->name;
           $artist->get_column('description');

DESCRIPTION

       This module allows you to get and store utf8 (unicode) column data in a database that does
       not natively support unicode. It ensures that column data is correctly serialised as a
       byte stream when stored and de-serialised to unicode strings on retrieval.

         THE USE OF THIS MODULE (AND ITS COUSIN DBIx::Class::ForceUTF8) IS VERY
         STRONGLY DISCOURAGED, PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS BELOW FOR AN EXPLANATION.

       If you want to continue using this module and do not want to receive further warnings set
       the environment variable "DBIC_UTF8COLUMNS_OK" to a true value.

   Warning - Module does not function properly on create/insert
       Recently (April 2010) a bug was found deep in the core of DBIx::Class which affects any
       component attempting to perform encoding/decoding by overloading store_column and
       get_columns. As a result of this problem create sends the original column values to the
       database, while update sends the encoded values. DBIx::Class::UTF8Columns and
       DBIx::Class::ForceUTF8 are both affected by ths bug.

       It is unclear how this bug went undetected for so long (it was introduced in March 2006),
       No attempts to fix it will be made while the implications of changing such a fundamental
       behavior of DBIx::Class are being evaluated. However in this day and age you should not be
       using this module anyway as Unicode is properly supported by all major database engines,
       as explained below.

       If you have specific questions about the integrity of your data in light of this
       development - please join us on IRC or the mailing list to further discuss your concerns
       with the team.

   Warning - Native Database Unicode Support
       If your database natively supports Unicode (as does SQLite with the "sqlite_unicode"
       connect flag, MySQL with "mysql_enable_utf8" connect flag or Postgres with the
       "pg_enable_utf8" connect flag), then this component should not be used, and will corrupt
       unicode data in a subtle and unexpected manner.

       It is far better to do Unicode support within the database if possible rather than
       converting data to and from raw bytes on every database round trip.

   Warning - Component Overloading
       Note that this module overloads "store_column" in DBIx::Class::Row in a way that may
       prevent other components overloading the same method from working correctly. This
       component must be the last one before DBIx::Class::Row (which is provided by
       DBIx::Class::Core). DBIx::Class will detect such incorrect component order and issue an
       appropriate warning, advising which components need to be loaded differently.

SEE ALSO

       Template::Stash::ForceUTF8, DBIx::Class::UUIDColumns.

METHODS

   utf8_columns

EXTENDED METHODS

   get_column
   get_columns
   store_column

AUTHORS

       See "CONTRIBUTORS" in DBIx::Class.

LICENSE

       You may distribute this code under the same terms as Perl itself.