SQL CREATE INDEX

As mentioned in the Index overview page, a table index helps SQL statements run faster. The syntax for creating an index is:

CREATE INDEX "INDEX_NAME" ON "TABLE_NAME" (COLUMN_NAME)

Let's assume that we have the following table,

TABLE Customer
(First_Name char(50),
Last_Name char(50),
Address char(50),
City char(50),
Country char(25),
Birth_Date date)

and we want to create an index on the column Last_Name, we would type in,

CREATE INDEX IDX_CUSTOMER_LAST_NAME
on CUSTOMER (Last_Name)

If we want to create an index on both City and Country, we would type in,

CREATE INDEX IDX_CUSTOMER_LOCATION
on CUSTOMER (City, Country)

There is no strict rule on how to name an index. The generally accepted method is to place a prefix, such as "IDX_", before an index name to avoid confusion with other database objects. It is also a good idea to provide information on which table and column(s) the index is used on.

Please note that the exact syntax for CREATE INDEX may be different for different databases. You should consult with your database reference manual for the precise syntax.

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