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# Tag: MyISAM

## Less known SQL syntax and functions in MySQL

MySQL MyISAM SQL Syntax November 23, 2008December 13, 2008

“Standard SQL” is something you read about. All popular databases have modified version of SQL. Each database adds its own flavor and features to the standard. MySQL is no different.

Some deviations are storage engine dependent. Others are more general. Many, such as `INSERT IGNORE`, are commonly used. Here’s a list of some MySQL deviations to SQL, which are not so well known. Continue reading » “Less known SQL syntax and functions in MySQL”

## Two storage engines; different plans, Part II

MySQL Execution plan Indexing InnoDB MyISAM November 7, 2008December 13, 2008

In Part I of this article, we have seen how the internal structure of the storage engine’s index can affect an execution plan. We’ve seen that some plans are inherent to the way engines are implemented.

We wish to present a second scenario in which execution plans vary for different storage engines. Again, we will consider MyISAM and InnoDB. Again, we will use the world database for testing. This time, we will see how confident the storage engines are in their index search capabilities.

Many newcomers to databases often believe that an index search is always preferable to full table scan. This is not the case. If I were to look for 10 rows in a 1,000,000 rows table, using an indexed column – I could benefit from an index search. However, if I’m looking for 200,000 rows on that table (that’s 20% of the rows) – an index search can actually be much more expensive than a full table scan. Continue reading » “Two storage engines; different plans, Part II”

## Two storage engines; different plans, Part I

MySQL Execution plan Indexing InnoDB MyISAM November 1, 2008December 13, 2008

A popping question is: “Can an execution plan change for different storage engines?”

The answer is “Yes”. I will present two such cases, where the MySQL optimizer will choose different execution plans, based on our choice of storage engine.

We will consider MyISAM and InnoDB, the two most popular engines. The two differ in many respects, and in particular, the way they implement indexes and statistics: two major players in the optimizer’s point of view. Continue reading » “Two storage engines; different plans, Part I”