[RESOLVED] just a yes / no question about case changing script

christillis

I'M REALLY GRATEFUL FOR A YES NO, I'M NOT EXPECTING A FREE SCRIPT!

I've read that it's recommended that data (records) should be either upper or lower case. I was just wondering if I could later produce a script that turn "JOHN SMITH" into "John Smith".

Thanks in advance!

Chris

dagon

yes.

but the premise is incorrect, it the persons name is John Smith, why not store it as John Smith rather than JOHN SMITH

dagon

Some people like to call them self "PerSoN" so just store the name as they give it to you.

christillis

Thanks for your comments dagon, that a fair point about specific casing of peoples names... I only went down this road because my "Learn SQL" manual says,

"Even though SQL syntax is not case sensitive, data is. Most companiesprefer to store data in uppercase to provide data consistency. You should always store data either in all uppercase or all lowercase. Mixing case creates difficulties when you try to retrieve accurate data".

Now trust me when I say I'm more trusting in a current user than a manual, so I'm only quoting for reference really.

Let me know what you think, cos it'll be interesting to know how I should get the data ball rolling so to speak!

Cheers!
Chris

bradgrafelman

I think that bit of the manual is a load of rubbish. You're not providing "data consistency" if you alter the case of the data given to you, you're destroying data integrity.

If I tell you my name is "Brad MacArthur", you'd better greet me as "Brad MacArthur" and not "BRAD MACARTHUR". Granted, it may be easier for simple credit card swipe machines to retrieve data as "GRAFELMAN/BRADLEY J" when it reads my debit card, but you can certainly make your web applications much smarter than that.

Long story short: store the data as it is given to you. If you're worried about case-sensitive searches, just use a case-insensitive collation (a "_ci" suffix) and you'll be fine.

dagon

for most computer books if its over 5 year old burn. 4-5 treat with extreme caution. Very little software is not updated monthly and some daily.

SQL is not mysql, amusing that's what your using, there's a LOT more in mysql than would be in a SQL book, so perhaps a book on mysql or the manual\websites would be a better starting place.

christillis

Thanks for both of your opinions guys, much appreciated.

I have found that in principle the manual I've got is very good - but then I have no comparison so I can easily think that.

Is there any on/offline manual either of you would prefer? Ultimately my final use of PHP/SQL will be basic, i.e. save info from from webpage, save to table. Then others that allow printing, etc.

Thanks in advance!