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PostgreSQL Glossary

Index

A data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table. Example: CREATE INDEX idx_user_email ON users(email) speeds up…

Definition

A data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table.

What Index Means in PostgreSQL

A data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table.

Index appears frequently in production operations, architecture decisions, and troubleshooting workflows. Understanding this term helps teams reason about reliability, performance, and safe change management.

Why Index Matters

Teams that understand Index can make better decisions on database design, incident response, and release safety.

In modern PostgreSQL environments, this concept often connects directly to backup strategy, performance tuning, and operational confidence.

  • Improves decision quality for production operations
  • Reduces avoidable troubleshooting time
  • Strengthens reliability and recovery planning

Practical Example

CREATE INDEX idx_user_email ON users(email) speeds up login queries that search by email address.

Where To Learn More

You can explore deeper implementation patterns in the Vela articles library, review platform workflows in How Vela Works, and compare approaches in our PostgreSQL comparisons.

Related Glossary Topics

Isolation ACID Atomicity Archiving (WAL Archiving) archive_command archive_mode BYOC (Bring Your Own Cloud) B-tree Index

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Index in PostgreSQL?
A data structure that improves the speed of data retrieval operations on a database table.
Why is Index important?
Index matters because it directly affects how teams build, operate, and recover PostgreSQL systems in production.
Can you give a practical Index example?
CREATE INDEX idx_user_email ON users(email) speeds up login queries that search by email address.
How does Index relate to backup, recovery, or performance?
In most production deployments, Index influences one or more of these areas: data safety, restore behavior, and performance under load.
What should teams check first when implementing Index?
Start with clear operational goals, test in a non-production environment, and validate behavior with repeatable runbooks before relying on it in production.