NLS_LANG is an environment variable in Oracle databases that specifies the language and territory settings for the database. It determines the language and character set used for displaying error messages, formatting dates and numbers, and sorting data. For example, if NLS_LANG is set to ‘AMERICAN_AMERICA.UTF8’, the database will use American English as the language and UTF-8 as the character set.
Checking the value of NLS_LANG is essential for ensuring that the database is using the correct language and territory settings. Incorrect settings can lead to unexpected results, such as garbled text or incorrect sorting of data. There are several ways to check the value of NLS_LANG, including: