Three easy ways to optimize your MySQL queries

Any database programmer will tell you that in high-traffic database-driven applications, a single badly-designed SQL query can significantly impact the overall performance of your application. Not only does such a query consume more database time than it ideally should, but it can have an exponential effect on the performance of other application components. Optimizing query performance is as much a black art as a science, as heavily dependent on the developer's intuition as on hard statistical performance data. Database applications like MySQL come with tools to aid in the optimization of queries. Three of the more common tools include using indexes, analyzing queries with EXPLAIN, and adjusting MySQL's internal configuration. This download explains how they are used and what benefits are derived.

This download is also available as a TechRepublic article.