Defining Database Indexes

SQL database indexes can be defined for entity sets, to enable better server performance for OData queries using $filter. This is achieved by use of the SQL.Indexes annotation term within the appropriate EntitySet elements.

Example:

<edmx:Edmx Version="4.0" xmlns:edmx="http://docs.oasis-open.org/odata/ns/edmx">
    <edmx:Reference Uri="vocabularies/com.sap.cloud.server.odata.sql.v1.xml">
        <edmx:Include Alias="SQL" Namespace="com.sap.cloud.server.odata.sql.v1"/>
    </edmx:Reference>
    <edmx:DataServices>
        <Schema Namespace="example" xmlns="http://docs.oasis-open.org/odata/ns/edm" Alias="Self">
            <!-- type definitions omitted for brevity ... -->
            <EntityContainer Name="ExampleService">
                <Annotation Term="SQL.TrackChanges"/>
                <EntitySet Name="Customers" EntityType="Self.Customer">
                    <NavigationPropertyBinding Path="Orders" Target="Orders"/>
                    <Annotation Term="SQL.Indexes">
                        <Collection>
                            <Record Type="SQL.Index">
                                <PropertyValue Property="Name" String="DateOfBirthIndex"/>
                                <PropertyValue Property="Properties">
                                    <Collection>
                                        <PropertyPath>DateOfBirth</PropertyPath>
                                    </Collection>
                                </PropertyValue>
                            </Record>
                            <Record Type="SQL.Index">
                                <PropertyValue Property="Name" String="HomeAddressCityIndex"/>
                                <PropertyValue Property="Properties">
                                    <Collection>
                                        <PropertyPath>HomeAddress/City</PropertyPath>
                                    </Collection>
                                </PropertyValue>
                            </Record>
                        </Collection>
                    </Annotation>
                </EntitySet>
                <EntitySet Name="Orders" EntityType="Self.Order">
                    <NavigationPropertyBinding Path="Customer" Target="Customers"/>
                </EntitySet>
            </EntityContainer>
        </Schema>
    </edmx:DataServices>
</edmx:Edmx>

Note

It might not be necessary to define database indexes when using column based data stores. When using SAP HANA, please consult the SAP HANA Performance Guide for Developers.

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Last update: November 18, 2021