UPPER and LOWER in MySQL - Mini Project: Build & Apply

Using UPPER and LOWER Functions in SQL

📖 Scenario: You work at a bookstore database. The store wants to standardize how author names are displayed in reports. Some names are in uppercase, some in lowercase, and some mixed. You will use SQL functions to convert all author names to uppercase or lowercase.

🎯 Goal: Create a table of authors, then write queries using UPPER() and LOWER() functions to display author names in uppercase and lowercase.

📋 What You'll Learn

Create a table called authors with columns id (integer) and name (varchar).

Insert three authors with exact names: 'Jane Austen', 'mark twain', 'GEORGE ORWELL'.

Write a query to select all author names converted to uppercase using UPPER().

Write a query to select all author names converted to lowercase using LOWER().

💡 Why This Matters

🌍 Real World

Standardizing text case in databases helps keep reports and user interfaces consistent and professional.

💼 Career

Database developers and analysts often need to clean and format text data using functions like UPPER and LOWER.

1

Create the authors table and insert data

Create a table called authors with columns id as integer and name as varchar(50). Then insert these three rows exactly: (1, 'Jane Austen'), (2, 'mark twain'), and (3, 'GEORGE ORWELL').

MySQL

-- Create the authors table and insert data
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

Use CREATE TABLE to make the table, then INSERT INTO to add rows.

2

Write a query to select author names in uppercase

Write a SQL query to select the name column from authors but convert all names to uppercase using the UPPER() function. Name the output column name_upper.

MySQL

CREATE TABLE authors (
  id INT,
  name VARCHAR(50)
);

INSERT INTO authors (id, name) VALUES
(1, 'Jane Austen'),
(2, 'mark twain'),
(3, 'GEORGE ORWELL');

-- Write a query to select names in uppercase
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

Use SELECT UPPER(name) AS name_upper FROM authors; to convert names to uppercase.

3

Write a query to select author names in lowercase

Write a SQL query to select the name column from authors but convert all names to lowercase using the LOWER() function. Name the output column name_lower.

MySQL

CREATE TABLE authors (
  id INT,
  name VARCHAR(50)
);

INSERT INTO authors (id, name) VALUES
(1, 'Jane Austen'),
(2, 'mark twain'),
(3, 'GEORGE ORWELL');

SELECT UPPER(name) AS name_upper FROM authors;

-- Write a query to select names in lowercase
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

Use SELECT LOWER(name) AS name_lower FROM authors; to convert names to lowercase.

4

Combine uppercase and lowercase queries

Write a SQL query to select the name column from authors and show two columns: one with names in uppercase called name_upper and one with names in lowercase called name_lower. Use UPPER() and LOWER() functions in the same query.

MySQL

CREATE TABLE authors (
  id INT,
  name VARCHAR(50)
);

INSERT INTO authors (id, name) VALUES
(1, 'Jane Austen'),
(2, 'mark twain'),
(3, 'GEORGE ORWELL');

SELECT UPPER(name) AS name_upper FROM authors;

SELECT LOWER(name) AS name_lower FROM authors;

-- Write a query to select names in both uppercase and lowercase columns
-- Your code here

Need a hint?

Use SELECT UPPER(name) AS name_upper, LOWER(name) AS name_lower FROM authors; to show both columns.