title: MySQL: Compare date strings?
body: <p>I have a column which is a string, it holds values like that: <code>11.05.2012 05:22:12</code></p>
  
  <p>Now I want to get all rows that have a <code>date &lt;= 30.09.2011</code> in that column. I tried </p>
  
  <pre><code>DATE_FORMAT(my_column_with_the_string_date, "%Y-%m-%d") &lt;= '2011-09-30'
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>but this failed (returns no results). Any ideas?</p>