[hwoarang69]

i have this sql query in my home page. problem is that i am using a rand method and if the database is large it will take forever to load up page.

$item_query = mysql_query("SELECT * FROM item ORDER BY RAND() LIMIT 6"); 

i was reading this: http://www.endyourif...-rand-or-newid/

and it talk about doing same thing without using rand method. but i was having hard time understanding it. can any one explain it to me ?

[modi123_1]

You want me to exec summarize it? Ah.. okay.

Solution 1 - get a tally of all your rows, get a random number between 1 and that row count, and pull out X of those rows you need. This all assumes your row ids are an auto incrementing integer with no deletes (creating gaps and less than X rows returned).

Solution 2 - create a cron job that seeds your rows (presumably with a new 'rand' column) every so often an then just select X from those.

[no2pencil]

Assuming your db is indexed properly, select count(id), & get the total, rand off a range of 0 to that count number, then just select that id from the database.

That's how I would do it.