MySQL speed

So, most of you heard that when you have lots of records containing date field and you show the page in ASC or DESC order by date it slows down things.

Here is my question, will it be faster if we convert date field into integer (strip '-' signs) and then run the same query (ASC/DESC by date) ?

IMHO it should be faster, just can't bother doing tests, and want to hear from some experts here

 

Just index the data and the reads and sorts should be lightning fast.

 

yup, if all data is non-null, indexed, and truly a date, sorting a date field should be wicked fast

 

you mean to create an index on date field?

 

I'd have to agree with ccoonen: if you are storing it as a DATE type (as opposed to a string or an int) you shouldn't have too many problems...

 

EXPLAIN [i]your query here[/i]

Code (markup):

Will tell you everything you need to know