title: MySQL operator LIKE and =
body: <p>I have a MySQL 5.6 (running on Windows 7 os) database. Inside this database I have a simple table (Bolle) which has a VARCHAR(255) field called bol_gruppo.</p>
  
  <p>This database is populated via a MFC application that connects to the DBMS via ODBC 32. Now a user inserted a group rows where bol_gruppo seems to be 'prova'. I say "seems" because if I perform a LIKE query:</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT * FROM bolle WHERE bol_gruppo LIKE 'prova';
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>no rows are returned, while:</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT * FROM bolle WHERE bol_gruppo = 'prova';
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>gives the correct results.
  Querying without filters shows that there are rows with bol_gruppo set to 'prova'.
  Where is the problem? How can I see what is really stored into bol_gruppo?</p>