How to Query Large SQL Tables Efficiently Using Only the Primary Key

Do you need to query a massive SQL table with millions of rows, but there is no index on the column you care about? In this post, we’ll look at a simple technique to speed up your queries by using only the index that you do have — the primary key — to improve performance.

Including the primary key in the SQL query when no other index exists on the target table can significantly reduce the amount of database resources it takes to find the data you are looking for. This can prevent performance degradation for other users by keeping the queries running quickly and efficiently. It can also help you find the data you are looking for much more quickly. You may just need to do a little bit of work to figure out how to find the correct key values that equate to the data you are searching for.