MSSQL Linux Yii

I have a question regarding Yii and mssql.

I have ubuntu and Yii. The db is mssql.

I am able to connect to the db using Yii. When I try to get unicode characters from the database the db query returns "?" instead of the character. Our db is set up with unicode. Our project files are using UTF8 files. I can use MySql to view unicode characters just fine. It is only when selecting from mssql that there is a issue.

What is the best way to view Unicode characters with MSSQL, Yii, and Linux?

Try to execute SET NAMES "charset", before any sql query, sometime you need to be explicit, depending on you environment settings.