[eluser]narkaT[/eluser]
[quote author="inparo" date="1224702081"]@narkaT, what do you think should be used instead?[/quote]
normal field(s) where a index can be used by mysql would be perfect.
sorting by a monthname would be done by an additional field containing the monthname.
okay, that field has to be updated evertime the date gehts updated,
that would be about ~30 keystrokes more...
very small effort, maximum performance
for example:
I'm currently working on a sorted query joining two large tables (5.5 MB & 41,8 MB):
without index: 0.06 - 0.07 seconds
with index: 0.0004 seconds
on small tables the difference won't be that big and maybe I'm just thinking
in "too big dimensions"