Clustered vs Non-Clustered Indexes
Clustered vs Non-Clustered Indexes
MediumDatabases0% accepted
Explain the difference between a clustered and a non-clustered index and how it affects query performance. Cover: how a clustered index defines the physical row order (and why a table has only one), how a non-clustered index stores a pointer back to the row, and what a 'covering' index avoids.
Approach
Clustered index = the table sorted physically by the key (one per table). Non-clustered = a separate structure with pointers to rows. A covering index includes all needed columns so no lookup is required.
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