A novel solution to a big MySQL problem

Monday, February 18, 2008, 12:03 AM
Code by John

Every now and then you come across a blog that is really worth passing along. Jeremy Cole's blog falls squarely in this category. Cole is the kind of MySQL guru I can only dream of being.

I came across his blog while searching for a few different approaches to solving the great issue of blacklisting incoming IP addresses from countries that post a lot of spam into websites. The main problem isn't the database of IPs and countries itself. While large it isn't impossible. It is just cumbersome if your goal is to search for ranges.

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The problem comes when you're trying to push through all of those IP addresses quickly to get a fast answer. Cole's solution is novel: form the IPs into polygons and use the MySQL polygon function to determine if an IP falls within the given range. It's pretty cool, when you think about. Speedy, too. That's nice, especially for a blacklisting function, since obviously the whitelisted folks still have to be passed through before they're served any content.

Cole has quite a few other hardcore MySQL guru tips on his website, too. it is worth a further look.

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Welcome!

Wonder where to start with your web design business?

This blog follows along with my efforts to build and grow a website design business, Pro Content and Design.

The goal of this blog is to fill in blanks that may be empty as you get your business rolling.

This blog, particularly the source code section, is not intended for beginners. If you are not comfortable with databases, Ajax, DOM objects and other advanced methods, I strongly suggest you go take a look over at W3 Schools before even reading -- let alone tinkering with -- any of the code here.

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Good luck, and happy reading.

Thank you,
John Crawford
Pro Content and Design