Last time we created a simple, but not particularly useful, stored function. This time, we’ll create something a little more complicated and useful. (more…)

Previously, I gave a brief introduction into what stored routines actually are and gave some advantages of using them. Now, I’ll cover some of the basics for creating stored routines. (more…)

Stored routines are a relatively new addition to the MySQL server, and aren’t generally used by a lot of people. Although they can greatly simplify application code and ensure that all parts of a system behave in a consistent manner, creating and using stored routines can still be a daunting prospect to those who have never used them before. In this series of articles I will introduce stored routines, how to create (and use) them and the reasons for using them. (more…)

Sometimes you may feel the need to re-order the fields in one of your tables - you shouldn’t really have to do this, but some people prefer a ‘neat’ schema. The most obvious way of doing this is to recreate the entire table, or drop the field and recreate it, but there is an easier way that doesn’t involve dropping fields or tables. (more…)

Improving the performance of a system using the MySQL database server is not just about indexes and buffers - getting the most out of the system requires a wider view. We’ll start by looking at what needs to be considered when a system starts needing work to maintain or improve performance. (more…)

Without wishing to sound pedantic, they’re indexes build upon a prefix of the column’s data. (more…)

Cardinality refers to how many unique values a particular column contains with respect to the number of rows in that table. (more…)