How are capital letters sorted by default in MongoDB?

In MongoDB, capital letters are sorted before and separate from lowercase letters by default. This behavior is based on the Unicode Collation Algorithm, which defines how strings are sorted. In this algorithm, uppercase letters (A-Z) are given precedence over lowercase letters (a-z), resulting in a case-sensitive sorting mechanism that maintains the distinction between the two.

When sorting strings, the sorting order begins with the uppercase letters first, followed by the lowercase letters. This means that, for instance, "Apple" would come before "apple" in a sorted list. This sorting order aligns with the expectations in many programming and database contexts, where case sensitivity is a common feature.

This ordering ensures a clear distinction between capital and lowercase letters, promoting consistent behavior in applications that may rely on this property for data retrieval, indexing, and display purposes.