In MySQL, you can use the LOWER() function to convert any uppercase characters to lowercase. Alternatively, you can use the LCASE() function, which is a synonym for LOWER().

The syntax goes like this:

LOWER(str)

Or…

LCASE(str)

Where str is the string you want converted to lowercase.

Example

Here’s an example:

SELECT LOWER('ATTENTION');

Result:

+--------------------+
| LOWER('ATTENTION') |
+--------------------+
| attention          |
+--------------------+

Of course, if the string already contains any lowercase characters, then they will remain lowercase.

Example:

SELECT LOWER('Attention');

Result:

+--------------------+
| LOWER('ATTENTION') |
+--------------------+
| attention          |
+--------------------+

Database Example

Here’s an example of selecting data from a database and converting it to lowercase:

USE Music;
SELECT 
    ArtistName AS Original, 
    LOWER(ArtistName) AS Lowercase
FROM Artists
LIMIT 5;

Result:

+------------------+------------------+
| Original         | Lowercase        |
+------------------+------------------+
| Iron Maiden      | iron maiden      |
| AC/DC            | ac/dc            |
| Allan Holdsworth | allan holdsworth |
| Buddy Rich       | buddy rich       |
| Devin Townsend   | devin townsend   |
+------------------+------------------+

The UPPER() and UCASE() functions work the same way to convert characters to uppercase.