Would it be difficult to convert an ASCII database model to Unicode?

Question

I'm planning on developing a Windows application (eventually expanding onto other platforms like mobile platforms) and have been doing research on the pros and cons of ASCII and Unicode data models for data storage. Initially, my application won't need to support any languages other than English, so that is one factor eliminated.

I am leaning towards using ASCII for my data model however, if I wanted to change this to Unicode in the future, would this be a very daunting task? I plan on using MS SQL Server for the database and developing on C#.

My main concern is if I did choose to change data model types, my existing data at the time (well after application implementation) may possibly be modified or altered and won't be usable.

Thanks

Answer 1

Rule of thumb

For all user entered data ALWAYS use NVARCHAR(n), don't waste your time with bad design.

In fact, unless you know for certain you don't need to store Unicode in certain fields, or you are trying to save bytes in a database to the nth degree, you are better off just using NVARCHAR(n) and save your self a lot of trouble in the future

To answer you question directly

its not that hard to recreate tables and copy across data, but why give your self the hassle when you can do it right and future proof now with no extra effort