Creating Indexes and Database Diagramming

Summary

We’ve covered yet another major building block in creating a SQL Server solution. The last few chapters have shown you how to store data, and in this chapter you’ve learned about indexes and how to use them to quickly and efficiently retrieve the data stored in the table.

There are many types of indexes, and choosing the right one at the right time to complete the right job is quite an art. This chapter has taken you through the steps to decide which columns will make an efficient index, and then build those columns in the right type of index to make the most of the information.

This chapter also covered database diagramming. Database diagrams should initially be thought of as a form of documentation. Keep in mind, though, that the database diagram tool may expand in future versions of SQL Server to become much more sophisticated and powerful than it is now—although even now it is quite a powerful utility.

Don’t be caught out by the fact that changes in the diagram are not applied until the diagram is saved, and that your changes could overwrite another’s changes. If you’re using the database diagram tool for development in any sort of multiuser environment, take the greatest of care when completing updates (in fact, try to avoid them altogether). Unless you split your database solution into multiple diagrams, with any table being found in at most one diagram, don’t use the database designer as a development tool.