Hi Chris! > I understand that an index is used to "speed stuff up", but am foggy on the > details.
Ayup. one of the beauties of MySQL/RDBMS is that -you- don't really need to know or -do- much except declare the index. :) > I assume I set up the index like so in the create table: > ... > unique index (lname, fname, mname) ? > > Do I give the index a name? I notice this is optional in the syntax. > What's the reason to give/not give an index a name? Best is to real -all- the details http://www.mysql.com/doc/ is the starting point http://www.mysql.com/doc/manual.php?search_query=create+table+index&depth=0 ..returns cool hits: http://www.mysql.com/doc/M/y/MySQL_indexes.html http://www.mysql.com/doc/C/R/CREATE_INDEX.html http://www.mysql.com/doc/C/R/CREATE_TABLE.html http://www.mysql.com/doc/D/a/Data_size.html ...and lots more. > How do I tell my client code to "use the index" for sorting? Again, that's the beauty, MySQL will simply use it if it's available and you SELECT the right indexed fields. Have a :) day! jb -- jim barchuk [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Before posting, please check: http://www.mysql.com/manual.php (the manual) http://lists.mysql.com/ (the list archive) To request this thread, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, e-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Trouble unsubscribing? Try: http://lists.mysql.com/php/unsubscribe.php
