Consider working with Unicode-mode applications only in the following situations:
You need to enable users with different languages to view, in their own languages and character sets, information from a common database.
For example, using alias tables in Japanese and German, users in Japan and Germany can view information about a common product set in their own languages.
You need to handle artifact names longer than non-Unicode-mode applications support.
For example, application and database names need to include more than eight characters, or you are working with a multibyte character set, and you need to handle more characters in artifact names.
See Limits.
For a translated, multibyte Essbase implementation, you have experienced a “round-trip” problem, where two different bit values can map to the same character, which can occur in communications between multibyte operating systems and application programs.
As Java applications, Administration Services and Provider Services always work in Unicode; therefore, no round-trip conversion errors occur.
When deciding whether to use Unicode-mode applications, consider the following points:
Using non-Unicode text files with Unicode-mode applications requires an understanding of locales and care in managing them. Oracle recommends using UTF-8 encoded files to prevent errors that can cause database corruption.
To work with Unicode-mode applications, custom client programs that were written to support non-Unicode-mode applications must be built to use the longer strings used by Unicode-mode applications. This task may be a simple rebuild or may involve reprogramming, depending on the design of the applications. Depending on how modified programs are coded, more memory may be required.
See the Oracle Essbase API Reference.