What are the trade-offs of indexing in databases?

What are the trade-offs of indexing in databases?

Indexing can speed up data retrieval but may slow down write operations and increase storage requirements.

Can you explain how indexing affects read and write performance?

Sure! Indexes improve read performance by allowing the database to find data faster, but they can slow down writes because the index must be updated with each insert, update, or delete.

Are there specific scenarios where indexing is not recommended?

Yes, indexing may not be recommended for small tables or for columns with low cardinality, as the overhead may outweigh the benefits.

How do I decide which columns to index?

Consider indexing columns that are frequently used in WHERE clauses, JOIN conditions, or as part of an ORDER BY statement.