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Indexes

Indexes are database structures that improve the speed of data retrieval operations on database tables. They provide faster access to data by creating a separate data structure that the database engine can search quickly.

Types of Indexes​

We support two types of btree indexes:

  1. Regular btree indexes
  2. Unique btree indexes

Both use the B-tree data structure for efficient searching, insertion, and deletion operations.

Creating Indexes​

To create an index on an existing table:

CREATE [IF NOT EXISTS] INDEX [index_name] ON table_name (column_name);

Creating Unique Indexes​

To create a unique index:

CREATE UNIQUE INDEX [index_name] ON table_name (column_name);

Multi-Column Indexes​

Create indexes on multiple columns:

CREATE INDEX idx_name ON table_name (column1, column2, column3);

The order of columns is important. The index can be used for queries referencing the first column, first two columns, first three columns, and so on, in order.

Dropping Indexes​

Remove an index using:

DROP INDEX [IF EXISTS] index_name;

The IF EXISTS clause is optional and prevents an error if the index doesn't exist.