My apologies in advance if this does not seem like a proper SO question. However, I can't find the answer anywhere else.
I want to be able to sort results by an algorithm that ranks results based on different columns or variables using a rule. My intuition is that using the built in MYSQL ORDER BY is much faster than manipulating the record collection once it is returned. I have used Indexes in MYSQL to speed up sorting on a field or alternatively two fields. But I don't know how to create a rule or formula that weights two fields and prioritizes and imposes logic on the weights.
For example: Say I have a table of reviews. I would like to create an algorithm that sorts these reviews based on the combined weighting of different variables with a bit of logic thrown in.
As in example: Return results edited today first. With all other results, return based 50% on the reputation of the author and 50% on when the review was created.
Table reviews:
id|reviewtext|lastedited|datecreated|authorid
Table authors
id|name|reputation
MYSQL/PHP:
$SQL = "SELECT r.*, a.* FROM `reviews` r
LEFT JOIN `authors` a
on = r.authorid= a.id
WHERE reviewtext LIKE '%str%'
ORDER BY lastedited DESC datecreated DESC reputation DESC";
would order first by lastedited, then by datecreated etc.
How do I use a more complicated formula with logic weights etc.?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.