Determine database character set

You can  run the following SQL to determine whether your database character set is UTF-8. 

SELECT value$ FROM sys.props$ WHERE name = 'NLS_CHARACTERSET' ;

It should return the value AL32UTF8. 

Another option is to run the following SQL :

SELECT * FROM NLS_DATABASE_PARAMETERS;

The value against NLS_CHARACTERSET should be UTF8.It will indicate also the national character set.

useful database upgrade notes

I was searching for useful upgrade notes and i found the following so i decided to share it:


Minimizing Downtime During Production Upgrade [ID 478308.1]
Master Note For Oracle Database Upgrades and Migrations [ID 1152016.1]
Different Upgrade Methods For Upgrading Your Database [ID 419550.1]
Migration of Oracle Database Instances Across OS Platforms[ID 733205.1]
Oracle® Database Upgrade Guide:
10g Release 2 (10.2)
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/B19306_01/server.102/b14238/upgrade.htm#i1011372