An index is an auxiliary
file that is defined on one or more of a table's columns, which are
called key columns. The index stores the unique column values and
a system of directions that enable access to rows in that table by
index value. When an index is used to process a PROC SQL query, PROC
SQL accesses directly (without having to read all the prior rows)
instead of sequentially.
You can create two types
of indexes:
-
simple index (an index on one column)
-
composite index (an index on two
or more columns).
You can define either
type of index as a unique index, which requires that values for the
key column(s) be unique for each row.