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When to index

Choose which columns to index.

When to index?

Indexes go on frequently queried columns, not every column. Low-repetition values are good for indexing.

CREATE INDEX idx_email ON customers (email);

Email is ideal for indexing as it is unique.

The index idx_email is created.

When to index? — details

Primary keys and UNIQUE columns are automatically indexed. They need no extra index.

Add indexes to columns used often in WHERE, JOIN and ORDER BY that have many distinct values; low-variety columns (e.g. gender) gain little.

Practice When to index?

Add an index on email (frequently searched).

Starter code

query.sql
-- index on frequent column
CREATE INDEX

Sample solution

query.sql
CREATE INDEX idx_email ON customers (email);

Expected output

İndeks oluşturuldu

Questions and answers

Review the lesson questions together with their answers. To test yourself, solve the lesson interactively.

1 Add CREATE INDEX

Question 
CREATE ____ idx_email ON customers (email);
Answer 
CREATE INDEX idx_email ON customers (email);

Explanation: CREATE INDEX idx_email speeds up lookups by email.

2 When to index: match the terms

Term Meaning
frequent query index
unique suitable
primary key automatic
low repeat fit

3 Which column is auto-indexed?

  • A date
  • Last name
  • Description
  • The primary key Correct answer

Explanation: Primary keys are auto-indexed.

All lessons in Intermediate

1 INNER JOIN in depth

  1. INNER JOIN logic
  2. Choosing the join column
  3. Three-table INNER JOIN
  4. Self JOIN
  5. Filtering joins
  6. Summary - INNER JOIN

2 LEFT and RIGHT JOIN

  1. LEFT JOIN
  2. RIGHT JOIN
  3. Unmatched rows
  4. JOINs with NULL
  5. LEFT vs RIGHT
  6. Summary - LEFT and RIGHT JOIN

3 FULL and CROSS JOIN

  1. FULL OUTER JOIN
  2. CROSS JOIN
  3. When to CROSS JOIN
  4. Comma JOIN
  5. Choosing a JOIN type
  6. Summary - FULL and CROSS JOIN

4 Project: Library database

  1. Library design
  2. Books and authors
  3. List loans with LEFT JOIN
  4. Find overdue loans
  5. Member summary

5 GROUP BY

  1. What is GROUP BY?
  2. Single-column grouping
  3. Multi-column grouping
  4. GROUP BY with aggregates
  5. Ordering grouped results
  6. Summary - GROUP BY

6 HAVING

  1. What is HAVING?
  2. HAVING vs WHERE
  3. HAVING with aggregates
  4. Multiple conditions
  5. HAVING with aliases
  6. Summary - HAVING

7 Aggregate functions

  1. COUNT
  2. SUM
  3. AVG
  4. MIN and MAX
  5. NULL and aggregates
  6. Summary - Aggregates

8 Project: Sales report

  1. Sales design
  2. Daily revenue
  3. Best sellers
  4. Customer segments
  5. Low performers

9 Subquery

  1. What is a subquery?
  2. Scalar subquery
  3. Subquery with IN
  4. ANY and ALL
  5. Correlated subquery
  6. Summary - Subquery

10 EXISTS

  1. What is EXISTS?
  2. NOT EXISTS
  3. EXISTS vs IN
  4. EXISTS performance
  5. Multiple EXISTS
  6. Summary - EXISTS

11 UNION and INTERSECT

  1. UNION
  2. UNION ALL
  3. INTERSECT
  4. EXCEPT
  5. Set rules
  6. Summary - UNION and INTERSECT

12 CASE

  1. What is CASE?
  2. Searched CASE
  3. Simple CASE
  4. The ELSE branch
  5. CASE with aggregates
  6. Summary - CASE

13 VIEW

  1. What is a VIEW?
  2. CREATE VIEW
  3. Querying a VIEW
  4. DROP VIEW
  5. Updatable VIEWs
  6. Summary - VIEW

14 INDEX basics

  1. What is an INDEX?
  2. CREATE INDEX
  3. Composite INDEX
  4. DROP INDEX
  5. When to index
  6. Summary - INDEX

15 Project: Blog database

  1. Blog design
  2. Post list
  3. Tag search
  4. Author stats
  5. Search index

16 Normalization

  1. What is normalization?
  2. First normal form
  3. Second normal form
  4. Third normal form
  5. BCNF
  6. Summary - Normalization

17 Data integrity

  1. What is integrity?
  2. Entity integrity
  3. Referential integrity
  4. Domain integrity
  5. Integrity with triggers
  6. Summary - Data integrity

18 Transaction basics

  1. What is a transaction?
  2. BEGIN and COMMIT
  3. ROLLBACK
  4. SAVEPOINT
  5. ACID
  6. Summary - Transaction

19 ALTER and DROP

  1. ALTER TABLE
  2. Adding a column
  3. Dropping a column
  4. Changing a column type
  5. DROP TABLE
  6. Summary - ALTER and DROP

20 Intermediate final

  1. Multi-JOIN report
  2. Aggregate analysis
  3. Subquery challenge
  4. Transaction scenario