Database index
An index is an auxiliary structure that lets a database find rows by a key quickly, without scanning the whole table.
At a glance
Key signals
0% cross fields · reaches 0 more
- Databases
- Computer Science
- Explanation
- Examples
- Misconception
- Sourced relations
- Attribution
Dependencies
What this concept builds on and what it makes possible — derived from the atlas’s dependency, causal and structural relations, not from every related edge.
Enables · leads to
Database indexenablesSQLEstablished
An index makes queries fast.
Mechanism: The index keeps keys in sorted order so the engine can jump to matching rows instead of scanning every one.
Structural role & consequence
Interpreted from the current atlas graph — what the connections mean, not just how many there are.
Directly enables 1 concept; following enables/causes relations, 1 concept is downstream across 2 disciplines.
structural · Follows only enables/causes dependency edges — not general relatedness.
Currently dark in the atlas: no key date stored · 1 of 1 of its relations lack claim-level evidence.
atlas representation · Describes the current Thinking OS representation, not the state of the world.
All 1 of its relationships stay within its own discipline — a field-specific concept in the current atlas.
structural · Structural graph analysis — not a claim of importance, causation or history.
cross-field
1 within-field, 0 cross-field
Strengths & constraints
Constraints
- Evidence coverage currently thin in the atlas — few of its relationships carry claim-level evidence. atlas representation
- No dated history stored — the atlas records no key date for this concept. atlas representation
Conditions
- Read structurally — most of its relationships carry no external evidence yet, so claims here are graph-derived. structural
Dependency radial
What this concept builds on (left) and what it makes possible (right) — derived from dependency and causal relations.
Seen through each discipline
How this concept sits in each of its fields — derived from its real connections in the graph, not asserted.
Through this lens it connects to SQL.
Related ideas to explore
Concepts that look related but are not yet connected here — candidates for a connection to reason about, not established links.
- Connects 1 other ideas across 2 disciplines.
- Most of its connections are of the “Cause & effect” kind.
Derived from the graph’s real structure — observations, not a score.
Sources
- index database (2000) verified
- shared-index database (2000) verified
- Index (1994) verified
- Index Editorial (1994) verified