Why MySQL does not use indexes in WHERE IF clause?

Question

Because of this setting:

mysql> show global variables like '%indexes';
+-------------------------------+-------+
| Variable_name                 | Value |
+-------------------------------+-------+
| log_queries_not_using_indexes | ON    | 
+-------------------------------+-------+

The slow queries log keep receiving:

# Time: 120607 16:58:30
# User@Host: xbtit[xbtit] @  [123.30.53.244]
# Query_time: 0  Lock_time: 0  Rows_sent: 1  Rows_examined: 16006
SELECT * FROM xbtit_files WHERE IF(soha_id is null OR soha_id = '', info_hash, soha_id)='6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90';

Trying to explain this query:

mysql> EXPLAIN SELECT * FROM xbtit_files WHERE IF(soha_id is null OR soha_id = '', info_hash, soha_id)='6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90';
+----+-------------+-------------+------+---------------+------+---------+------+-------+-------------+
| id | select_type | table       | type | possible_keys | key  | key_len | ref  | rows  | Extra       |
+----+-------------+-------------+------+---------------+------+---------+------+-------+-------------+
|  1 | SIMPLE      | xbtit_files | ALL  | NULL          | NULL | NULL    | NULL | 16006 | Using where | 
+----+-------------+-------------+------+---------------+------+---------+------+-------+-------------+

What surprised me is why MySQL not using indexes:

mysql> show index from xbtit_files;
+-------------+------------+-----------+--------------+-------------+-----------+-------------+----------+--------+------+------------+---------+
| Table       | Non_unique | Key_name  | Seq_in_index | Column_name | Collation | Cardinality | Sub_part | Packed | Null | Index_type | Comment |
+-------------+------------+-----------+--------------+-------------+-----------+-------------+----------+--------+------+------------+---------+
| xbtit_files |          0 | PRIMARY   |            1 | info_hash   | A         |       16006 |     NULL | NULL   |      | BTREE      |         | 
| xbtit_files |          1 | filename  |            1 | filename    | A         |       16006 |     NULL | NULL   | YES  | BTREE      |         | 
| xbtit_files |          1 | category  |            1 | category    | A         |           1 |     NULL | NULL   |      | BTREE      |         | 
| xbtit_files |          1 | uploader  |            1 | uploader    | A         |          16 |     NULL | NULL   |      | BTREE      |         | 
| xbtit_files |          1 | bin_hash  |            1 | bin_hash    | A         |       16006 |       20 | NULL   |      | BTREE      |         | 
| xbtit_files |          1 | ix_sohaid |            1 | soha_id     | A         |       16006 |     NULL | NULL   | YES  | BTREE      |         | 
+-------------+------------+-----------+--------------+-------------+-----------+-------------+----------+--------+------+------------+---------+

FORCE INDEX also doesn't work:

mysql> EXPLAIN SELECT * FROM xbtit_files force index (PRIMARY) WHERE IF(soha_id is null OR soha_id = '', info_hash, soha_id)='6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90';
+----+-------------+-------------+------+---------------+------+---------+------+-------+-------------+
| id | select_type | table       | type | possible_keys | key  | key_len | ref  | rows  | Extra       |
+----+-------------+-------------+------+---------------+------+---------+------+-------+-------------+
|  1 | SIMPLE      | xbtit_files | ALL  | NULL          | NULL | NULL    | NULL | 16006 | Using where | 
+----+-------------+-------------+------+---------------+------+---------+------+-------+-------------+

Must I split this query into 2 operations?

Answer 1

In MySQL , you cannot create indexes on expressions, and the optimizer is not smart enough to split your query against two indexes.

Use this:

SELECT  *
FROM    xbtit_files 
WHERE   soha_id = '6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90'
UNION ALL
SELECT  *
FROM    xbtit_files 
WHERE   soha_id = ''
        AND info_hash = '6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90'
UNION ALL
SELECT  *
FROM    xbtit_files 
WHERE   soha_id IS NULL
        AND info_hash = '6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90'

Each query uses its own index.

You can just combine it into a single query:

SELECT  *
FROM    xbtit_files 
WHERE   (
        soha_id = '6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90'
        OR
        (soha_id = '' AND info_hash = '6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90')
        OR
        (soha_id IS NULL AND info_hash = '6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90')
        )

and create a composit index on (soha_id, info_hash) for this to work fast.

MySQL is also able to merge results from two indexes together, using index_merge , so there is a chance you would see this in the plan for the second query even if you don't create a composite index.

Answer 2

Because functions are black boxes: http://use-the-index-luke.com/sql/where-clause/functions/case-insensitive-search

Edit - gave you too little context, sorry.

The relevant part is:

It is a trap we all fall into. We instantly recognize the relation between 
LAST_NAME and UPPER(LAST_NAME) and expect the database to “see” it as well.
In fact, the optimizer’s picture is more like that:

SELECT first_name, last_name, phone_number
  FROM employees
 WHERE BLACKBOX(...) = 'WINAND';

The UPPER function is just a black box. The parameters to the function are
not relevant because there is no general relationship between the function’s
parameters and the result.

That applies to all functions: UPPER, IF, whatever...

MySQL is crossed out because the solution to that problem, which is described further down the page, does not work with MySQL.

Answer 3

您可以阅读此内容以了解为什么OR运算符不适用于索引DB。

Answer 4

use functions in where could be slow down performance(except LEFT function).try this query

SELECT * FROM xbtit_files WHERE 
((soha_id is null OR soha_id = '') AND (info_hash='6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90')) OR
( (soha_id='6d63dd4ab199190b531752067414d4d6e6568f90'))

Answer 5

The primary key is based on the hash of the torrent but you can add a field id and define it with primary key
Like this:

ALTER TABLE `xbtit_files` DROP PRIMARY KEY;
ALTER TABLE `xbtit_files` ADD `id` INT NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY FIRST;
ALTER TABLE `xbtit_files` ADD UNIQUE (`info_hash`);

Do not forget to put the fields info_hash to UNIQUE