UTF-8 General CI vs. Unicode CI: Which Collation Should I Choose for User Data?

Understanding Collations for User-Submitted Data: UTF-8 General, Unicode, and Binary

In managing user-submitted data, selecting the appropriate collation is crucial to ensure proper data handling. This article explores the differences between three common collations for UTF-8: General CI, Unicode CI, and Binary.

1. Should I store user-submitted content in UTF-8 General or UTF-8 Unicode CI columns?

For user-submitted content, it is generally recommended to use UTF-8 General CI. While UTF-8 Unicode CI provides more accurate character comparisons, it may be slower in certain operations due to its support for expansions, contractions, and ignorable characters.

2. What type of data would UTF-8 Binary be applicable to?

In contrast to UTF-8 General and UTF-8 Unicode CI, which perform case-insensitive comparisons, UTF-8 Binary is case-sensitive. It compares the binary values of characters, making it suitable for scenarios where precise character-level comparisons are required, such as storing passwords or other sensitive information.

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