🎁 New User? Get 20% off your first purchase with code NEWUSER20 · ⚡ Instant download · 🔒 Secure checkout Register Now →
Menu

Categories

Databases Intermediate

What is Database Index Types?

Different index structures (B-tree, Hash, GIN, GiST, BRIN) optimized for various query patterns and data types.

Database index types serve different purposes: B-tree indexes handle equality and range queries efficiently and are the default in most databases. Hash indexes are optimized for equality comparisons only. GIN (Generalized Inverted Index) indexes excel at full-text search and JSONB queries in PostgreSQL. GiST (Generalized Search Tree) indexes support geometric data and range types. BRIN (Block Range Index) indexes are compact indexes ideal for naturally ordered data like timestamps. Choosing the right index type can improve query performance by orders of magnitude.

Related Terms

Time-Series Database
A database optimized for storing and querying timestamped data points like metrics, sensor readings, and event logs.
JSONB
PostgreSQL's binary JSON data type that stores JSON documents with indexing, querying, and manipulation capabilities.
EXPLAIN Plan
A database command that shows how the query planner will execute a SQL query, revealing join methods, scan types, and estimated costs.
Graph Database
A database that uses graph structures with nodes, edges, and properties to store and query highly connected data.
MVCC (Multi-Version Concurrency Control)
A technique where the database maintains multiple versions of data to allow concurrent reads and writes without locking.
ORM (Object-Relational Mapping)
A technique that lets you interact with a database using object-oriented code instead of writing raw SQL queries.
 View All Databases Terms →