Hi, I have a question about speed : is faster to search mysql via php with several conditions to limit the number of items found or to search with fewer conditions to limit processing time ?
@NogDogSep 20.2007 — #In most cases, I would say that a complete, properly constructed query against data with appropriate indexes will execute faster than a general query that returns a data set which then requires further filtering by your script. (A DBMS is specifically designed to organize and sort data, after all.) However, the only way to be 100% positive is to test both methods in a controlled environment that emulates the production environment as closely as possilbe, then measure and compare response times.