On Tue, Nov 13, 2001 at 11:03:00PM -0600, Christian Stromberger wrote: > > I understand that an index is used to "speed stuff up", but am foggy > on the details.
You might find this helpful: http://www.linux-mag.com/2001-06/mysql_01.html > Eg, let's say I have an "authors" table with fname, mname, and lname > fields for first, middle and last names. Plus an auto_increment > primary key. I will want to sort on author last name for output of > sorted authors, and also want to prevent duplicate author names from > being inserted. So, how would I set up an appropriate index, and > then how would I use it in the client code? > > > I assume I set up the index like so in the create table: > ... > unique index (lname, fname, mname) ? That would help prevent duplication, yes. > Do I give the index a name? If you don't, MySQL will invent one for you. > I notice this is optional in the syntax. What's the reason to > give/not give an index a name? So that if you get an error that involves an index and MySQL tells you the index name, you might recognise it. :-) > How do I tell my client code to "use the index" for sorting? > > select lname, fname > from authors > order by ...? > > Any advice for this newbie appreciated. MySQL selects the index to use for a query automatically. Jeremy -- Jeremy D. Zawodny, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Technical Yahoo - Yahoo Finance Desk: (408) 349-7878 Fax: (408) 349-5454 Cell: (408) 685-5936 MySQL 3.23.41-max: up 70 days, processed 1,539,436,651 queries (254/sec. avg) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 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
