What does eq_ref and ref types mean in MySQL explain
I'll try an explanation...
eq_ref – imagine that you have two tables. Table A with columns (id, text) where id is a primary key. Table B with the same columns (id, text) where id is a primary key. Table A has the following data:
1, Hello 2, How are
Table B has the following data:
1, world!2, you?
Imagine eq_ref as JOIN between A and B:
select A.text, B.text where A.ID = B.ID
This JOIN is very fast because for each row scanned in table A there can be only ONE row in table B which satisfies the JOIN condition. One and no more than one. That is because B.id is UNIQUE.
Here you are: pseudo code which illustrates the processing at server side:
foreach (rowA in A){ if (existsInBRowWithID(rowA.id) { addToResult(rowA.text, getRowInBWithID(rowA.id).text); }}
ref - Now imagine another table C with columns (id, text) in which id an index but a non UNIQUE one. Table C has the following data:
1, John!1, Jack!
Imagine ref as JOIN between A and C:
select A.text, C.text where A.ID = C.ID
Here you are: pseudo code illustrating the server side processing:
foreach (rowA in A){ foreach (rowC in C) { if (rowA.id == rowC.id) { addToResult(rowA.text, rowC.text); } }}
This JOIN is NOT as fast as the former one because for each row scanned in table A there are SEVERAL possible rows in table C which may satisfy the JOIN condition (nested loops). That is because C.ID is NOT UNIQUE.
I hope that helps...
Cheerz!
The "type" refers to the join type made in your request. From best to worst, here is the list :
- system
- const
- eq_ref
- ref
- range
- index
- all
You will find a more detailed explanation at the MySQL documentation : http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/explain-output.html