Does MySQL Offer a True Case-Sensitive Collation?

Case Sensitivity in MySQL Collation

MySQL offers various collation types, and a common question arises: is there a case-sensitive collation available?

Collation in MySQL

Collation in MySQL determines how characters are ordered and compared. By default, most collations are case-insensitive, meaning they treat uppercase and lowercase letters as the same. This is indicated by the "_ci" suffix in the collation name.

Case-Sensitive Collation

According to the MySQL Manual, it is possible to set collation to "_cs" for case sensitivity. However, research reveals that there are currently no utf8_*_cs collations in MySQL.

Alternatives for Case Sensitivity

For case-sensitive comparisons in utf8 fields, the recommendation is to use the "utf8_bin" collation. However, this may disrupt ORDER BY functionality. To resolve this, you can use the following workaround:

ORDER BY column COLLATE utf8_general_ci

By using "utf8_general_ci" for ordering, you can maintain case-sensitive comparisons while ensuring proper order.

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