MySQL: Case Sensitivity in SELECT Queries

While MySQL SELECT statements are generally case-insensitive by default, this behavior can be overridden for specific use cases.

Default Case-Insensitive Behavior

When executing a SELECT query, MySQL defaults to case-insensitive comparison for most data types, including strings. This means that queries like:

SELECT * FROM `table` WHERE `Value` = "iaresavage"

Will return results even if the actual value of Value in the database is IAreSavage.

Case-Sensitive Comparison

However, if you need case-sensitive comparison, you can use a binary comparison operator. In MySQL, this is the BINARY operator. For example:

SELECT * FROM `table` WHERE BINARY `Value` = "iaresavage"

With this comparison, the query will only return results if the value in the database is exactly iaresavage.