CHAPTER 8Bitmap Indexes

When I started writing this chapter, I thought it would be much shorter than the equivalent chapter on B-tree indexes (Chapter 4) for two reasons. First, bitmap indexes are actually "hidden" inside B-tree structures, so most of the groundwork for the calculation is in the other chapter (so you probably ought to read that chapter before you read this one). Second, bitmap indexes are much less subtle (I thought) than B-tree indexes, so there are fewer complications to consider.

However, as I started writing, I realized that my casual assumption was wrong. Strategically, you use bitmap indexes very differently from B-tree indexes, so although there isn't a lot of new information to worry about when you consider just one ...

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