title: How do I find out the default server character set in mysql?
body: <p>Using MySQL on FreeBSD 8.2.  How do I find out the default server character set?  Is there some command I can run or file I can check?</p>
  
  <p><strong>UPDATE</strong></p>
  
  <p>Actually I want to know how to find both the <strong>default</strong> server character set <em>and</em> the <strong>current</strong> server character set.</p>