Indexing Techniques

Indexing techniques are methods used by databases to quickly locate and access data without scanning entire tables. Think of an index like a book’s table of contents or an index at the back, which points to where information is stored. Common techniques include B-trees and hash indexes. B-trees organize data hierarchically, enabling efficient range and sorted searches, while hash indexes use mathematical functions for rapid exact-match lookups. Proper indexing reduces search time, improves performance, and optimizes data retrieval, especially in large datasets.