Using mysql concat() in WHERE clause?

Question

I would like to search my table having a column of first names and a column of last names. I currently accept a search term from a field and compare it against both columns

Answer 1

Note that the search query is now case sensitive.

When using

SELECT * FROM table WHERE `first_name` LIKE '%$search_term%'

It will match both "Larry" and "larry". With this concat_ws, it will suddenly become case sensitive!

This can be fixed by using the following query:

SELECT * FROM table WHERE UPPER(CONCAT_WS(' ', `first_name`, `last_name`) LIKE UPPER('%$search_term%')

Edit: Note that this only works on non-binary elements. See also mynameispaulie's answer.