MYSQL order by

[garfx]

hi,

i have a table of names but the first names and second names are in the same column under name. i know i should have split the two but is there away of ordering the result by the second name. i.e. the string/name after the space.

Gareth

[Bjom]

Split the names and make two columns. Believe me: any workaround will cause much more of a headache.

[garfx]

thought as much

[bradgrafelman]

You could do a simple string split and order by the split piece (what about names like "Bobbie Jo Robinson" vs. "Brad Grafelman" ? - solution gets a little lengthy), but this means that the SQL server is going to have to split the data in each row every time the query is ran.

A lot of CPU/RAM could be saved by doing as Bjom suggested; invest a little work now to fix the schema to save yourself the trouble in the long run.