Is SQL Syntax Case Sensitive

Is SQL syntax case sensitive?

The SQL Keywords are case-insensitive (SELECT, FROM, WHERE, etc), but are often written in all caps. However in some setups table and column names are case-sensitive. MySQL has a configuration option to enable/disable it. Usually case-sensitive table and column names are the default on Linux MySQL and case-insensitive used to be the default on Windows, but now the installer asked about this during setup. For MSSQL it is a function of the database's collation setting.

Here is the MySQL page about name case-sensitivity

Here is the article in MSDN about collations for MSSQL

How to do a case sensitive search in WHERE clause (I'm using SQL Server)?

Can be done via changing the Collation. By default it is case insensitive.

Excerpt from the link:

SELECT 1
FROM dbo.Customers
WHERE   CustID = @CustID COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CS_AS
    AND CustPassword = @CustPassword COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CS_AS

Or, change the columns to be case sensitive.

How can I write a case sensitive WHERE CLAUSE in SQL Server?

Normally SQL Server is not case sensitive. So 'ABC'='abc' is true in a where clause.

To make a where clause case sensitive, you can use COLLATE. Please try the below query instead:

WHERE
        [Address] = UPPER([Address]) COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CS_AS
        OR
        [Address] = LOWER([Address]) COLLATE SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CS_AS

SQL- Ignore case while searching for a string

Use something like this -

SELECT DISTINCT COL_NAME FROM myTable WHERE UPPER(COL_NAME) LIKE UPPER('%PriceOrder%')

or

SELECT DISTINCT COL_NAME FROM myTable WHERE LOWER(COL_NAME) LIKE LOWER('%PriceOrder%')

Is the LIKE operator case-sensitive with SQL Server?

It is not the operator that is case sensitive, it is the column itself.

When a SQL Server installation is performed a default collation is chosen to the instance. Unless explicitly mentioned otherwise (check the collate clause bellow) when a new database is created it inherits the collation from the instance and when a new column is created it inherits the collation from the database it belongs.

A collation like sql_latin1_general_cp1_ci_as dictates how the content of the column should be treated. CI stands for case insensitive and AS stands for accent sensitive.

A complete list of collations is available at https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms144250(v=sql.105).aspx

(a) To check a instance collation

select serverproperty('collation')

(b) To check a database collation

select databasepropertyex('databasename', 'collation') sqlcollation

(c) To create a database using a different collation

create database exampledatabase
collate sql_latin1_general_cp1_cs_as 

(d) To create a column using a different collation

create table exampletable (
    examplecolumn varchar(10) collate sql_latin1_general_cp1_ci_as null
)

(e) To modify a column collation

alter table exampletable
alter column examplecolumn varchar(10) collate sql_latin1_general_cp1_ci_as null

It is possible to change a instance and database collations but it does not affect previously created objects.

It is also possible to change a column collation on the fly for string comparison, but this is highly unrecommended in a production environment because it is extremely costly.

select
  column1 collate sql_latin1_general_cp1_ci_as as column1
from table1

Is database record is case sensitive?

By default it is not case sensitive. So it will treat 'ABC' and 'abc' as same. But to make it case sensitive you have to use COLLATE.
You can find the detailed explanation with example HERE . This applys to join also.

SQL Server check case-sensitivity?

Collation can be set at various levels:

1. Server
2. Database
3. Column

So you could have a Case Sensitive Column in a Case Insensitive database. I have not yet come across a situation where a business case could be made for case sensitivity of a single column of data, but I suppose there could be.

Check Server Collation

SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('COLLATION')

Check Database Collation

SELECT DATABASEPROPERTYEX('AdventureWorks', 'Collation') SQLCollation;

Check Column Collation

select table_name, column_name, collation_name
from INFORMATION_SCHEMA.COLUMNS
where table_name = @table_name

Reason why oracle is case sensitive?

By default, Oracle identifiers (table names, column names, etc.) are case-insensitive. You can make them case-sensitive by using quotes around them (eg: SELECT * FROM "My_Table" WHERE "my_field" = 1). SQL keywords (SELECT, WHERE, JOIN, etc.) are always case-insensitive.

On the other hand, string comparisons are case-sensitive (eg: WHERE field='STRING' will only match columns where it's 'STRING') by default. You can make them case-insensitive by setting NLS_COMP and NLS_SORT to the appropriate values (eg: LINGUISTIC and BINARY_CI, respectively).

Note: When inquiring data dictionary views (eg: dba_tables) the names will be in upper-case if you created them without quotes, and the string comparison rules as explained in the second paragraph will apply here.

Some databases (Oracle, IBM DB2, PostgreSQL, etc.) will perform case-sensitive string comparisons by default, others case-insensitive (SQL Server, MySQL, SQLite). This isn't standard by any means, so just be aware of what your db settings are.

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