We may earn an affiliate commission when you visit our partners.

Database Indexing

Save
May 11, 2024 4 minute read

Database indexing is a technique that improves the speed and efficiency of data retrieval operations in a database management system (DBMS). It involves creating and maintaining special data structures that map the values of one or more columns in a table to the physical location of the corresponding rows on disk.

Benefits of Database Indexing

Database indexing offers several benefits, including:

  • Faster data retrieval: Indexes allow the DBMS to quickly locate rows based on the indexed column values, significantly reducing the time required to retrieve data.
  • Improved query performance: Indexes can significantly improve the performance of queries that filter or sort data based on the indexed columns.
  • Reduced I/O operations: By using indexes, the DBMS can avoid performing full table scans, which can be time-consuming, especially for large datasets.

Types of Database Indexes

There are several types of database indexes, each designed for specific scenarios:

Share

Help others find this page about Database Indexing: by sharing it with your friends and followers:

Reading list

We've selected ten books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Database Indexing.
Provides a comprehensive overview of database indexing, covering the different types of indexes, how to create and maintain them, and how to use them to improve the performance of your database queries.
Textbook on database management systems in German. It covers all aspects of database systems, including indexing.
Textbook on database systems in German. It covers all aspects of database systems, including indexing.
Provides practical advice on how to tune the performance of SQL queries, including how to use indexes effectively.
Provides a comprehensive overview of Solr, including how to create and use indexes.
While it general book on MySQL optimization, this book includes practical information on indexing MySQL databases along with other performance-tuning techniques.
Provides a comprehensive overview of PostgreSQL, including how to create and use indexes.
Table of Contents
Our mission

OpenCourser helps millions of learners each year. People visit us to learn workspace skills, ace their exams, and nurture their curiosity.

Our extensive catalog contains over 50,000 courses and twice as many books. Browse by search, by topic, or even by career interests. We'll match you to the right resources quickly.

Find this site helpful? Tell a friend about us.

Affiliate disclosure

We're supported by our community of learners. When you purchase or subscribe to courses and programs or purchase books, we may earn a commission from our partners.

Your purchases help us maintain our catalog and keep our servers humming without ads.

Thank you for supporting OpenCourser.

© 2016 - 2025 OpenCourser