php/mysql: how to search case insentitively

Question

i have this table in UTF8 (collation is utf8_bin in case it matters).

I need to search in it for strings using LIKE '%$searchstring%' .

Right now you have to use the exact case in order for the results to show up. Is there a way to make it case insensitive ?

Thank you

UPDATE sorry, found the answer.

Answer 1

Use:

WHERE LOWER(t.column) LIKE LOWER('%search_string%')

..or:

WHERE UPPER(t.column) LIKE UPPER('%search_string%')

References:

• LOWER
• UPPER

Answer 2

Your collation specifies the case-sensitivity. Use this instead:

utf8_ci