Oracle Composite Indexes and PostgreSQL Multi-Column Indexes

Feature compatibility	AWS SCT / AWS DMS automation level	AWS SCT action code index	Key differences
		Indexes	N/A

Oracle Usage

An index created on multiple table columns is known as a multi-column, concatenated, or composite index. The main purpose of composite indexes is to improve the performance of data retrieval for SELECT statements when filtering on all, or some, of the composite index columns. When using composite indexes, it is beneficial to place the most restrictive columns at the first position of the index to improve query performance. Column placement order is crucial when using composite indexes because the most prevalent columns are accessed first.

Examples

Create a composite index on the HR.EMPLOYEES table.

CREATE INDEX IDX_EMP_COMPI ON
  EMPLOYEES (FIRST_NAME, EMAIL, PHONE_NUMBER);

Drop a composite index.

DROP INDEX IDX_EMP_COMPI;

For more information, see Composite Indexes in the Oracle documentation.

PostgreSQL Usage

PostgreSQL multi-column Indexes are similar to Oracle composite indexes. Currently, only B-tree, GiST, GIN, and BRIN support multi-column Indexes. You can specify up to 32 columns to create a multi-column index.

PostgreSQL uses the same syntax as Oracle to create multi-column indexes.

Examples

Create a multi-column index on the EMPLOYEES table.

CREATE INDEX IDX_EMP_COMPI
  ON EMPLOYEES (FIRST_NAME, EMAIL, PHONE_NUMBER);

Drop a multi-column index.

DROP INDEX IDX_EMP_COMPI;

For more information, see Multicolumn Indexes in the PostgreSQL documentation.