Re: Basic INDEX and SELECT questions

lucky wrote:
> AFAIK,
> 1) Index order creation is not material, the type of index that you
> select for the cardinality of the field is material. use Bitmap index
> if field has low cardinality, use B Tree index for fast indexing and
> fields with high cardinality.
> 2) The more the indexes on a table, the more reindexing will have to be
> done frequently if large data is inserted, deleted etc. so you should
> be moderate with indexes.

<light_hearted>
Lucky ... I assume you got your handle from being able still hold an Oracle job while giving advice of this, choke, quality. </light_hearted>

The situation described by the OP, Steve, is possibly perfect for a compressed index. There is nothing indicated to lead one to suggest a bitmap index.

The decision to use bitmap indexes involves far more than cardinality. It also involves updates that might change the value. The OP wrote: "lots of records." You didn't inquire whether that meant 10,000 or 10,000,000,000.

With respect to "reindexing" please go to tahiti.oracle.com and find that word ... anywhere that does not refer to Oracle text domain indexes. The number of indexes on a table has nothing to do with moderation. It has to do with testing and optimizing performance.

-- 
Daniel A. Morgan
http://www.psoug.org
damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
(replace x with u to respond)