Creating indexes can improve query performance. The answer is to use the CREATE INDEX statement to create indexes on highly selective columns commonly used in WHERE, JOIN, ORDER BY or GROUP BY. 1. Single column indexes such as CREATE INDEX idx_users_email ON users (email); 2. For composite indexes, pay attention to the column order such as CREATE INDEX idx_users_name ON users (last_name, first_name); 3. Unique indexes prevent duplicate values such as CREATE UNIQUE INDEX idx_users_phone ON users (phone); excessive indexing should be avoided to prevent affecting the write operation performance. In the end, the index column should be selected reasonably according to the query mode to achieve the best effect.
Creating an index in SQL helps speed up query performance by allowing the database to find rows more quickly. You use the CREATE INDEX
statement to do this. Here's how it works:

Basic Syntax
CREATE INDEX index_name ON table_name (column1, column2, ...);
- index_name : A name you choose for the index.
- table_name : The table where the index is being created.
- column1, column2, ... : The column(s) you want to index. Indexes can be on one or multiple columns.
Example: Single-Column Index
If you frequently search users by their email in a users
table:
CREATE INDEX idx_users_email ON users (email);
This creates an index called idx_users_email
on the email
column.

Example: Composite Index (Multiple Columns)
If you often filter by both last_name
and first_name
:
CREATE INDEX idx_users_name ON users (last_name, first_name);
This creates a composite index. The order of columns matters for query performance.

Unique Index
To ensure no duplicate values in a column (like a phone number):
CREATE UNIQUE INDEX idx_users_phone ON users (phone);
This prevents inserting duplicate phone numbers and enforces data integrity.
When to Use Indexes
- On columns used in
WHERE
,JOIN
,ORDER BY
, orGROUP BY
clauses. - On columns with high selectivity (many unique values).
- Avoid over-indexing — every index slows down
INSERT
,UPDATE
, andDELETE
operations.
Some Tips
- Use describe names like
idx_table_column
for clarity. - Most databases automatically create indexes for primary keys and unique constraints.
- You can drop an index later with:
DROP INDEX index_name;
Creating an index is simple, but choosing the right columns and understanding query patterns is key to getting the best performance. Basically, index the columns you search by most — but don't go overboard.
The above is the detailed content of How do you create an index in SQL?. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!

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