docs(admin): clarify purpose of utf8mb4/full Unicode support

[joshtrichards]

☑️ Resolves

Clarify that configuring MySQL/MariaDB with utf8mb4 enables support for the full Unicode character range, not only emoji.

This change:

• Reframes the chapter around full Unicode support while retaining emoji as a familiar example.
• Explains that the older three-byte utf8 character set cannot store characters outside the Basic Multilingual Plane.
• Distinguishes the utf8mb4 character set from the collation used for comparison and sorting.
• Updates the migration steps to use consistent MySQL/MariaDB and utf8mb4 terminology.
• Clarifies the backup guidance for preserving four-byte Unicode characters.
• Fixes minor grammar and formatting issues.

Motivation

The previous wording could imply that four-byte support is needed only for emoji. It is also required for less-common writing systems, historic scripts, specialized symbols, and other Unicode characters outside the Basic Multilingual Plane.

🖼️ Screenshots

✅ Checklist

• I have built the documentation locally and reviewed the output
• Screenshots are included for visual changes
• I have not moved or renamed pages (or added a redirect if I did)
• I have run codespell or similar and addressed any spelling issues

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📄 1 changed documentation page

• admin_manual/configuration_database/mysql_4byte_support.rst

Last updated: Mon, 24 Aug 2026 03:18:02 GMT

[nickvergessen]

sounds a bit confusing that this is not the config name, but it sounds close to it, especially since it's marked as code. Why not keeping it mysql.utf8mb4