CHAR_AS_NCHAR= LIBNAME Statement Option

Specifies the default character type to use for table columns.

Valid in: SAS/ACCESS LIBNAME statement
Category: Data Set Control
Default: NO
Data source: Netezza, OLE DB, SAP HANA
See: DBTYPE= data set option

Syntax

CHAR_AS_NCHAR=YES | NO

Syntax Description

YES

specifies that NCHAR or NVARCHAR be used as the default column type.

NO

specifies that CHAR or VARCHAR be used as the default column type.

Details

Use this option when you cannot use the DBTYPE= data set option for table columns that contain multilingual character data.

Example: Specify Multilingual Data as the Default

The SAS data set, local_cust, contains multilingual data in this example.

libname net netezza server=mysrv1 database=mydb1 uid=myusr1 
    pwd=mypwd1 CHAR_AS_NCHAR=YES;

data net.customers;
set sas.local_cust;
run;
Last updated: February 3, 2026