Did you know you can actually force an index to run if you'd like? SQL table hints are the key here. Using these hints you can indicate that you'd like the query to give preference to once index or another. This can sometimes be beneficial if you'd think that one index may be better than one the SQL query tools automatically select.

To force the index, simply place the follow code to the right of your FROM clause:

view plain print about
1WITH (INDEX("index_name"))

Note: No quotes should be used when doing this. Here is a full example query:

view plain print about
1SELECT member_id, member_name
2FROM sales_force WITH (INDEX(IX_sales_force_member_names))
3WHERE member_name LIKE '%bernard%'

Using the "include execution results" feature, this tool can be an excellent asset in your SQL arsenal.

This entry was posted on March 19, 2010 at 4:14 PM and has received 402 views. There are currently 0 comments. Print this entry.