I could be wrong but I seem to remember that Primary keys are indexed automatically. Regardless, smallints and dates really are pretty easy to index. So go for it! Strings introduce a bit of overhead, but I've never heard anyone, nor would I, recommend holding back on indexing because you have too many. Remember, the server only uses the index when it can, or when you explicitly tell it to. Sometimes it will try to use an index and it shouldn't, but there's never really a reason not to use it on numeric fields, which all of yours really are (dates are numeric on the insides).
<>< Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Steve Bradwell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, May 03, 2002 9:24 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PHP-DB] indexing Hi all, More of a database question here, my apologies: I've been doing some reading on indexes but I thought I should get an experienced persons input. My question is about "Over Indexing". I have a MySQL MyISAM table that stores inventory transactions, in, out etc. I store numeric fields that are primary indexes in other tables, 2 datetime fields and a qty field, Paul DuBois' MySQL book says that anything used in a where clause or join clause is a candidate for an index. It turns out that 7 out of eight fields fit this description,1 primary key, 4 smallints, and 2 are datetime fields. Should I use all these indexes or is this overkill? Thanks for any input Steve. -- PHP Database Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php -- PHP Database Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) To unsubscribe, visit: http://www.php.net/unsub.php
