Question

I have a database where users enter a date, among other things, with a drop down calendar, the date format is in this format 21-NOV-2012 .
Is there a way to search the database with a date range ?
I currently search date using the following ::

sql ="SELECT * FROM ircb WHERE  date LIKE '%$term1%' AND date LIKE '%$term2%'  LIMIT $start_from, 15";

term1 is month and term 2 is year , this does not allow for date range within the month only for the month.
any help appreciated, thanks

Answer 1

I know this doesn’t really solve your problem but I guess it’s a testing (and you have access to the database) and will risk myself of getting flamed by telling you a better approach, as I will feel guilty if don’t tell you what would be the correct way to do it:

You should have a Date type field in your database (I assume mysql) and store the whole date in that field, and mysql can search using that date (normally the standard date format would be YYYY-MM-DD) .

You just need to do:

SELECT * FROM TABLE WHERE date > 'your date';
or ........................... < 'your date';
or .................WHERE date BETWEEN 'date1' AND 'date2';

It will allow you to do those kind of operations in a much easier and human-readable way.

Also have a look at the datetime if you are interested, as you can do the same but with the time of that day also included in the same field! 😀

Have a good look at the field types, as it’s essential to have the database healthy and optimized.