title: MySQL - length() vs char_length()
body: <p>What's the main difference between <code>length()</code> and <code>char_length()</code>?</p>
  
  <p>I believe it has something to do with binary and non-binary strings.  Is there any practical reason to store strings as binary?</p>
  
  <pre><code>mysql&gt; select length('MySQL'), char_length('MySQL');
  +-----------------+----------------------+
  | length('MySQL') | char_length('MySQL') |
  +-----------------+----------------------+
  |               5 |                    5 |
  +-----------------+----------------------+
  1 row in set (0.01 sec)
  </code></pre>