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 <div class="section">
  <div class="titlepage">
   <div>
    <div>
     <h3 class="title">
      <a name="charset-binary-set">
      </a>
      12.10.8 The Binary Character Set
     </h3>
    </div>
   </div>
  </div>
  <a class="indexterm" name="idm46045215527344">
  </a>
  <a class="indexterm" name="idm46045215525888">
  </a>
  <p>
   The
   <code class="literal">
    binary
   </code>
   character set is the character set
        for binary strings, which are sequences of bytes. The
   <code class="literal">
    binary
   </code>
   character set has one collation, also
        named
   <code class="literal">
    binary
   </code>
   . Comparison and sorting are
        based on numeric byte values, rather than on numeric character
        code values (which for multibyte characters differ from numeric
        byte values). For information about the differences between the
   <code class="literal">
    binary
   </code>
   collation of the
   <code class="literal">
    binary
   </code>
   character set and the
   <code class="literal">
    _bin
   </code>
   collations of nonbinary character sets,
        see
   <a class="xref" href="charset-binary-collations.html" title="12.8.5 The binary Collation Compared to _bin Collations">
    Section 12.8.5, “The binary Collation Compared to _bin Collations”
   </a>
   .
  </p>
  <p>
   For the
   <code class="literal">
    binary
   </code>
   character set, the concepts of
        lettercase and accent equivalence do not apply:
  </p>
  <div class="itemizedlist">
   <ul class="itemizedlist" style="list-style-type: disc; ">
    <li class="listitem">
     <p>
      For single-byte characters stored as binary strings,
            character and byte boundaries are the same, so lettercase
            and accent differences are significant in comparisons. That
            is, the
      <code class="literal">
       binary
      </code>
      collation is
            case-sensitive and accent-sensitive.
     </p>
     <div class="copytoclipboard-wrapper">
      <pre class="programlisting language-sql"><div class="docs-select-all right" id="sa4592274"><div class="copy-help left">Press ⌘+C to copy</div> <div class="right"><button class="clipboard-btn" title="Copy to Clipboard"><span class="icon-clipboard"></span></button></div></div><code class="language-sql"><span class="token prompt">mysql&gt;</span> <span class="token keyword">SET</span> <span class="token keyword">NAMES</span> <span class="token string">'binary'</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token prompt">mysql&gt;</span> <span class="token keyword">SELECT</span> <span class="token function">CHARSET</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span><span class="token string">'abc'</span><span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span> <span class="token function">COLLATION</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span><span class="token string">'abc'</span><span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">|</span> CHARSET('abc') <span class="token punctuation">|</span> COLLATION('abc') <span class="token punctuation">|</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">|</span> binary         <span class="token punctuation">|</span> binary           <span class="token punctuation">|</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span>
<span class="token prompt">mysql&gt;</span> <span class="token keyword">SELECT</span> <span class="token string">'abc'</span> <span class="token operator">=</span> <span class="token string">'ABC'</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span> <span class="token string">'a'</span> <span class="token operator">=</span> <span class="token string">'ä'</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">|</span> 'abc' = 'ABC' <span class="token punctuation">|</span> 'a' = 'ä'  <span class="token punctuation">|</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">|</span>             0 <span class="token punctuation">|</span>          0 <span class="token punctuation">|</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span></code></pre>
     </div>
    </li>
    <li class="listitem">
     <p>
      For multibyte characters stored as binary strings, character
            and byte boundaries differ. Character boundaries are lost,
            so comparisons that depend on them are not meaningful.
     </p>
    </li>
   </ul>
  </div>
  <p>
   To perform lettercase conversion of a binary string, first
        convert it to a nonbinary string using a character set
        appropriate for the data stored in the string:
  </p>
  <div class="copytoclipboard-wrapper">
   <pre class="programlisting language-sql"><div class="docs-select-all right" id="sa35600316"><div class="copy-help left">Press ⌘+C to copy</div> <div class="right"><button class="clipboard-btn" title="Copy to Clipboard"><span class="icon-clipboard"></span></button></div></div><code class="language-sql"><span class="token prompt">mysql&gt;</span> <span class="token keyword">SET</span> <span class="token variable">@str</span> <span class="token operator">=</span> <span class="token datatype">BINARY</span> <span class="token string">'New York'</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token prompt">mysql&gt;</span> <span class="token keyword">SELECT</span> <span class="token function">LOWER</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span><span class="token variable">@str</span><span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">,</span> <span class="token function">LOWER</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span><span class="token function">CONVERT</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span><span class="token variable">@str</span> <span class="token keyword">USING</span> utf8mb4<span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">)</span><span class="token punctuation">;</span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">|</span> LOWER(@str) <span class="token punctuation">|</span> LOWER(CONVERT(@str USING utf8mb4)) <span class="token punctuation">|</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">|</span> New York    <span class="token punctuation">|</span> new york                           <span class="token punctuation">|</span></span>
<span class="token output"><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">-</span><span class="token punctuation">+</span></span></code></pre>
  </div>
  <p>
   To convert a string expression to a binary string, these
        constructs are equivalent:
  </p>
  <div class="copytoclipboard-wrapper">
   <pre class="programlisting language-sql"><div class="docs-select-all right" id="sa5636077"><div class="copy-help left">Press ⌘+C to copy</div> <div class="right"><button class="clipboard-btn" title="Copy to Clipboard"><span class="icon-clipboard"></span></button></div></div><code class="language-sql"><span class="token datatype">BINARY</span> <em class="replaceable">expr</em>
<span class="token function">CAST</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span><em class="replaceable">expr</em> <span class="token keyword">AS</span> <span class="token datatype">BINARY</span><span class="token punctuation">)</span>
<span class="token function">CONVERT</span><span class="token punctuation">(</span><em class="replaceable">expr</em> <span class="token keyword">USING</span> <span class="token datatype">BINARY</span><span class="token punctuation">)</span></code></pre>
  </div>
  <a class="indexterm" name="idm46045215504224">
  </a>
  <p>
   If a value is a character string literal, the
   <code class="literal">
    _binary
   </code>
   introducer may be used to designate
        it as a binary string. For example:
  </p>
  <div class="copytoclipboard-wrapper">
   <pre class="programlisting one-line language-sql"><div class="docs-select-all right" id="sa6300024"><div class="copy-help left">Press ⌘+C to copy</div> <div class="right"><button class="clipboard-btn" title="Copy to Clipboard"><span class="icon-clipboard"></span></button></div></div><code class="language-sql">_binary <span class="token string">'a'</span></code></pre>
  </div>
  <p>
   The
   <code class="literal">
    _binary
   </code>
   introducer is permitted for
        hexadecimal literals and bit-value literals as well, but
        unnecessary; such literals are binary strings by default.
  </p>
  <p>
   For more information about introducers, see
   <a class="xref" href="charset-introducer.html" title="12.3.8 Character Set Introducers">
    Section 12.3.8, “Character Set Introducers”
   </a>
   .
  </p>
  <div class="note" style="margin-left: 0.5in; margin-right: 0.5in;">
   <div class="admon-title">
    Note
   </div>
   <p>
    Within the
    <a class="link" href="mysql.html" title="6.5.1 mysql — The MySQL Command-Line Client">
     <span class="command">
      <strong>
       mysql
      </strong>
     </span>
    </a>
    client, binary strings
          display using hexadecimal notation, depending on the value of
          the
    <a class="link" href="mysql-command-options.html#option_mysql_binary-as-hex">
     <code class="option">
      --binary-as-hex
     </code>
    </a>
    . For more
          information about that option, see
    <a class="xref" href="mysql.html" title="6.5.1 mysql — The MySQL Command-Line Client">
     Section 6.5.1, “mysql — The MySQL Command-Line Client”
    </a>
    .
   </p>
  </div>
 </div>
 <br/>
</div>
