hopelessliar
Technical User
I'm a real beginner with mysql/php but I've managed to put together a basic (1 table)mysql database and a web based search form which returns the relevant information. I've used a fulltext index (which includes most of the fields in the table) and this is what is now causing me some problems...
When I put this together, I learnt that searching against a fulltext index made use of a 'natural language' search function built into mysql and this seemed like a good idea to me. What I didn't realise was that every time the data in the table was added to or amended, the index needed to be recreated in order that the new information would be included in search results - told you I was new at this!
So, my questions are:
a) was I right to set up my search against a fulltext index like this or would it have been just as good to search against each field? (The database is small, it's unlikely ever to have more than around 200 rows, with around 14 fields per row)
b) if I stick to this arrangement, can I create some kind of sql statement and run it automatically perhaps once a day so that the index remains up to date without me having to manually update it? I assume this would be a cron job of some kind, which I've never done but if people say this is the way to go, then I guess I'll have to find out about cron jobs!
Any nudges in the right direction would be appreciated.
Thanks
When I put this together, I learnt that searching against a fulltext index made use of a 'natural language' search function built into mysql and this seemed like a good idea to me. What I didn't realise was that every time the data in the table was added to or amended, the index needed to be recreated in order that the new information would be included in search results - told you I was new at this!
So, my questions are:
a) was I right to set up my search against a fulltext index like this or would it have been just as good to search against each field? (The database is small, it's unlikely ever to have more than around 200 rows, with around 14 fields per row)
b) if I stick to this arrangement, can I create some kind of sql statement and run it automatically perhaps once a day so that the index remains up to date without me having to manually update it? I assume this would be a cron job of some kind, which I've never done but if people say this is the way to go, then I guess I'll have to find out about cron jobs!
Any nudges in the right direction would be appreciated.
Thanks